How FICO Credit Scores Are Calculated

Since we live in an computer-driven world, it's not surprising that your ability to repay your mortgage loan boils down to just one number. The FICO score is created by credit agencies. They use the payment history of all of your loans: credit cards, mortgages, car/boat loans and others.

The three agencies use slightly different formulas to build a credit score. The original FICO was developed by Fair Isaac and Company. While Experian still calls its score "FICO", TransUnion calls its score "Beacon" and Equifax uses "Empirica." While the formulas vary, all of the agencies use the following to calculate a score:

• Credit History - How many years have you had credit?
• Late Payments - Do you have a history of late payments?
• Balances on your Credit Cards - How many accounts do you hold, and how much do you owe?
• Requests for Credit - How many times have you had your credit checked for a loan?

Each of these is assigned a value and a weight. The result is one number. FICO scores range from 300 to 800. Higher is better. Most home buyers in the current environment have a score above 620.

Not just for qualifying

FICO scores affect more than your ability to get a loan. They also affect your interest rate. Higher scores indicate you are probably a better credit risk, and thus may qualify for a better mortgage rate.

Can I raise my credit score?

Is there any way to improve your credit score? Some companies promise quick fixes, but they can't do anything different than what you can do — for free. You must appeal for the credit agency to remove any incorrect reporting on your credit report, which is the only "quick fix" for credit troubles.

How do I find out my credit score?

Before you can improve your FICO score, you have to obtain your score and be sure that the credit reports from each agency are correct. Fair Isaac has created a web site (www.myFICO.com) that lets you do just that. It's inexpensive to quickly get your FICO score from all three reporting agencies, along with your credit report. Also available are helpful information and tools that can help you analyze what actions might have the greatest impact on your FICO score.

You can get a free credit report once per year from all three credit reporting agencies when you visit AnnualCreditReport.com. You won't get a free credit score from AnnualCreditReport.com, but getting it is quick and very inexpensive.

Armed with this information, you'll be a more informed consumer and you'll be better positioned to get the right mortgage for you.

Curious about credit scores? Call us at 610-565-3600.