Getting a good credit score isn’t just about paying your bills on time. There is more to it than that. Why you’ll want better credit scores depends on what you are looking to do – buy a home, rent an apartment, get a car, or even get a job. In the area of buying a home, if you are a VET and looking to take advantage of low VA rates for example, you may want to get your scores up to make your qualification process go much smoother. If you aren’t a VET and you want to get a mortgage you may have to get your scores up to even have a shot at getting any type of mortgage.

But let’s say that you are paying your bills on time and you still want to get your credit scores higher. What else can you do?

Let time pass – unfortunately when it comes to credit, time can cure many wounds. The longer you go from where you may have had a payment or account problem the better. Also, age of accounts has a lot to do with credit scores. In effect, an 18 year old with a 2 month old credit account will have a tough time getting a really high credit scores because they just don’t have enough credit history as compared to someone who has 20 years of good credit history.

Along with time passing, keep your credit accounts open. When you can, keep your credit card accounts open, even if you pay them off. The longer accounts stay open in good standing the better your scores can be.

Use your credit – having accounts open is one thing, but using them from month to month says a lot about your ability to manage credit which in turn will help your credit scores improve. Use a card for gas each month and pay it off – don’t pay cash at the pump – use a card. Same can be said for paying your utility bill or something you already pay regularly – if you can pay by credit card then do it and then pay the card off. This will give you good payment history and show that you can manage your credit.

Have a variety – along with showing that you can manage your credit, you’ll want to have a variety of credit accounts. These can range from credit cards to student loans to a car loan and even a mortgage. A wider range of account types will help you get a better credit score.

Again, payment history and keeping your payments on time is a huge factor in getting better credit scores. Use these suggestions to increase your credit scores to get a better credit program and better terms like improved interest rates.

The Illinois Mortgage Rates site has officially launched! We will work hard to bring you the latest Illinois mortgage related information such as information about:

• Mortgage rates
• Lenders
• Loan officers
• FHA mortgage loans
• VA mortgage loans
• HomePath mortgages
• Reverse mortgages
• Government regulation
• Illinois mortgage news

and much, much more.

Please contact us directly with any questions that you may have about mortgages and we will work hard to provide the right answers!