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  • Mortgage Rates
  • Calculators
  • Your Mortgage Step By Step
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • 3rd Party Resources
  • Mortgage Fitness Checkup
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  • Scott Lineberry
  • Todd Shaw
  • Steve Geiger
  • Greg Duncan
  • Daniel Burkle
  • Terry Jones
  • John Barnhizer
  • Mary Laird
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Capital Mortgage 5500 Westown Parkway Suite #140 West Des Moines, Iowa 50266 515-226-3383 NMLS# 2332

What's Your Credit Score?

You're probably familiar with your credit report, but did you know that you also have a credit score?  It's a number lenders use to determine how much, if any, credit to grant to you based on information found in your credit report.

Research Your Score - You can get your credit score, commonly called a FICO score, by logging on to www.myfico.com.  There are three major credit reporting agencies ( Equifax, Experian and TransUnion )  and since each agency considers only the data in your credit report at that agency, your credit score may vary.

Some data used to determine your score include:

Payment History.  Have you paid past credit accounts on time?

Amounts owed.  If you are overextended, you are considered more likely to make late payments or miss payments altogether.  They specifically look at the ratio of what you owe to your available high credit.

Types of credit in use.  A healthy mix of credit card, retail accounts, installment loans and mortgage loans is desirable. 

Length of time you have had credit - Don't close accounts you have had open for a long time.

Use Credit Wisely  -  Over time you can improve your score by paying credit obligations on time and paying down your revolving debt.  Don't open new credit cards that you don't need.  Handle old accounts responsibly. 

When to use a credit repair company?

According to the Public Interest Research Groups (PIRG), a survey they conducted found that 79% of credit reports featured errors - that's nearly 4 out of 5, suggesting that the odds are strong that your credit report isn't as clean as it should be. Worse yet, 25% had serious errors - bad enough to lead lenders to refuse you credit when you need it, perhaps to buy a house or auto.

Capital Mortgage works with reputable credit repair companies, we would be happy to refer you.