- NEW!
by SarahK on March 9th, 2008
If you want a better score, PAY DOWN BALANCES to 10% of your available credit or less and try to increase your credit limits. Also, don't run up a large balance on your cards during the month (even if you pay it down/off) and don't apply for new credit accounts.
The FICO score breaks down like this:
35% payment history (any late payments, collections?)
30% utilization (debt to credit limit ratio... the lower the better)
15% length of credit history (the longer the better, also takes into account the average age of accounts)
10% mix of credit (don't fool with this, it may very well backfire)
10% search for new credit (don't apply for new credit accounts... if you want a mortgage, do so within a 14-day period and it will be, for credit reasons, only counted as ONE inquiry for calculating your score)
Some mortgage lenders will want you to close credit card accounts because they're afraid that you'll run up debt. Don't do this as it will likely hurt your credit score. If they insist, you can compromise by lowering your accounts' credit limits AFTER you've been made a firm offer for the mortgage.
Accounts older than 7 years should still be on there, but unless you went through a bankruptcy or have a judgment, should only contain positive information.
Does telus have accounts with the credit bureau?
by Answerbag Staff on July 28th, 2010
| 1 person likes this
What Is a Cash Back Invoice?
by Answerbag Staff on July 28th, 2010
| 1 person likes this
Who is the collection agency for Capital One?
by Answerbag Staff on July 26th, 2010
| 1 person likes this
A US citizen worked in Canada for several years. How do they obtain a Canadian credit bureau report for the period spent in Canada?
by golfer50 on December 14th, 2010
| 1 person likes this
What Republican congressmen/women who have enormous personal credit card debt, are blaming Democrats for being fiscally irresponsible?
by GibsonGuy on May 14th, 2011
| 1 person likes this
You're reading Hi you guys, my credit score according to 2 companies is 676 and 686. Now, my goal is to get 690 or higher to get a better rate for a loan to buy my first house. I checked my credit report and saw that I have all these accounts older than 7 years that hav
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