Something that I notice is that people are generally TOTALLY UNPREPARED when they go to the bank.   A lot of times these clients will walk in wondering if they would qualify for a loan or line of credit and then ask the banker to run their credit in order to find out whether or not they qualify for anything.  In past times, if you had decent credit or you thought you had ok credit but just had not checked in the past you still may have been approved without a problem.  However, banks are lending sluggishly now so it is so important to know what you want and apply for only what you need and ONLY AFTER you have prepared to apply.

What is being prepared to apply?

·         CHECK YOUR OWN CREDIT SCORE FIRST USING A SERVICE THAT
       WILL ALLOW YOU TO BUY A FICO SCORE.

     o   Using a service to pull your own credit will ensure that you
                 will not incur a hard inquiry and as you know, too many hard
                 inquiries can cause a lending institution to decline your loan
                 because “you have been looking for money”.

·         SPEAK TO AN EXPERIENCED BANKER THAT KNOWS THE CREDIT
       SCORE CRITERIA OF THE PRODUCT THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO
       APPLY FOR.

     o   If you know the minimum score that your lending institution
                 will approve upon then you are empowered by knowing your
                 score and also knowing if you meet the minimum score
                 qualifications.  

      §  If you don’t meet the minimum score qualifications for
                           that institution…Don’t take it personal…. HEY THAT
                           BANK IS NOT FOR YOU RIGHT NOW.  You have
                           prevented a fruitless hard inquiry on your credit 
                           report.

·         MAKE SURE THAT ANY BALANCES YOU HAVE PAID DOWN HAVE
      ACTUALLY POSTED AND UPDATED ON YOUR CREDIT PROFILE
      BEFORE YOU APPLY FOR ANY NEW CREDIT         

     o   Doing this could save you money because you interest
                 rates or limit approved can be affected by your debt to
                 income ratio and also you credit loan to value ratios.
Add Comment