Question

We are planning on buying a house in the next year or two. Already have 20% down payment. We want to work on having great credit (above 800 at that point) . We are at 680 at the moment. However, we are new to the USA and don't know much about it. For those who keep great credit, how do you do it? We work with BOA, have 3 credit cards with them that we have in autopay (statement balance) every month. And a new Target credit card that we have not used yet. We never overspend. We rent a house right now now. Pay in time always. Have everything else in autopay. Some good resources where I could learn about this? Some pro tips and tricks? Thanks!  

Answer 1

- Never charge above 30% of your credit limit (regardless if you payoff monthly as the creditor reporting period may not fall on your cycling) -Don’t take out more credit or get inquiries on your bureau. Unfortunately depending on the date of your oldest tradeline you just may not have enough depth of credit to see a large shift in your score. Work instead on getting a little more down payment. The more down payment is a contributing positive factor to weigh against a credit score. Lastly, order the free annual credit report from all 3 bureaus and look at the scoring factors. It will tell you exactly why your score is lower and see if there is something you can fix. ♥️ Good luck