Getting Ready for Home Ownership
Here are a few ideas for getting your financial house in order if you are thinking about buying a home in the near future - six months, three months, and within a month of your purchase.
Six months prior to purchase:
Obtain a copy of your credit report from each of the three credit report bureaus. Review the reports, to make sure the information on them is correct and contact the bureaus to remove any errors you find. They should also tell you your credit or FICO score that will give you an indication of your financing options.
Three months prior to purchase:
Refrain from making any big purchases that can add to your debt load. Even better, pay down some credit card debt but don’t close those cards because that could actually lower your credit score.
Within a month of your purchase:
Start collecting your documents and put them in a folder—recent pay stubs, last years’ W-2s, most current bank & retirement account statements, and be sure to include all pages of these statements.
|