In this presentation, Shashank Shekhar talks about 5 factors that impact your credit score and how to avoid paying thousands of dollars in extra cost and higher interest rate for your mortgage by getting your credit history in shape.

1. Home Ownership Workshop What Impacts your Credit Score And how to get it in shape before starting the home buying process Shashank Shekhar Arcus Lending Mortgage Broker/Direct Lender San Jose, CA

2. Credit Report Basics 3 Credit Bureaus Equifax Experian Transunion Range of Score (300-850) Also called Fico or Fico Score Fair Isaac Corporation who invented the scoring model Consumer report vs. Mortgage Report

3. How important is a good Credit Score To get same interest rate a person with 679 Credit Score pays $11,000 in cost while a person with >740 score pays nothing. (On a $400,000 Loan Amount)

4. What impacts your credit score Personal factors like Income and Assets are not taken into consideration

5. Payment History 35% Impact Paying debt on time and in full has the greatest +ve impact Late payments, Judgments and Charge-offs have –ve impact Missing a high payment will have a more severe impact than missing a low impact Delinquencies in last 2 years carry more weight than older items

6. Outstanding Credit Balances 30% Impact Ratio between outstanding balance and available credit Keep balances as close to zero as possible Definitely below 30% of the available credit limit Spread your expense across cards Pay-off the card before the statement is issued

7. Credit History 15% Impact Length of time credit has been established Seasoned borrower will always be stronger Keep your old cards active; don’t close them

8. Type of Credit 10% impact A mix of auto loans, credit cards and mortgages is more positive Keep your number of credit cards to 3

9. Inquiries 10% impact Number of inquiries within a 6-month period Each “hard inquiry” can cost from 2-25 points Multiple inquiries within a 30 day period for the same kind of loan doesn’t additionally negatively impact the score

10. Steps to take before Home Buying Review your credit report with a lender 3-6 months before the process Identify items that are impacting your score Form an action plan to remedy those items Dispute the items that are being reported in error Hire the services of a reputable credit restoration company if required

11. Monitor your report To avoid identity theft you should regularly monitor your credit report Get a free credit report once every year at www.AnnualCreditReport.com Consider enrolling for a credit watch program with your bank or credit card company

12. Sign up for more such FREE web classes for Home Buyers at http://bit.ly/dCHYCo

13. www.FirstTimeHomeBuying101.com Finally a book about being a first time home buyer that actually gives them the information they need and not just a sales pitch.Carole Rodoni A book every First Time Home Buyer should read.Tim Davis

14. Let’s Connect FirstTimeHomeBuying101 ShashankTweets www.LendingExpertBlog.com Shashank Shekhar Arcus Lending 408.615.0655 shashank@arcuslending.com www.ArcusLending.com