All you Need to Know about a Credit Score in Ireland

 

Having a good knowledge about your credit score and the contents of your credit report is very important since you are able to clearly understand the factors that may impact your score when getting a mortgage to buy a home. With the report, you get an overview of the things you are doing right and the parts you should change so that you can increase your credit score. 

Factors that determine your credit score

Your credit including a mortgage, car loans, store credit cards, and a mortgage affect your credit score. Additionally, the credit that you are using affects your score. In this case too much use of the available credit reduces your credit score. The third factor is late repayment since it stays in the report for a lot of time. Sometimes there can be some error in the credit report but this can be fixed within a day. Therefore, before going to a lender for a mortgage, you need to ensure that the report is up to date. If you discover an error, file a dispute with …

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5 tips to improve your credit rating

Your credit rating is crucial when applying for a mortgage or any type of loan. The better your credit rating, the higher the chance you will qualify for a good rate from your lender. Having an average or below average rating can greatly reduce your choice of lender and have an adverse affect on your rate. Here are some tips to make sure your credit rating is as high as possible.

1. Use Credit cards wisely

Using credit cards responsibly on a regular basis is key to boosting your score. Banks may ask you for 12 months of credit card statements, and being behind on your credit payments will decrease your chances of getting a loan. Instead, use your credit card for small amounts, and keep up with your monthly repayments. This shows that you can reliably pay back the money you borrow.

2. Don’t miss loan repayments

Making all your payments on time is the factor that impacts your credit score the most. When you pay your credit cards or other loans on time, it goes on your file …

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Three Things to do Before Taking out a Mortgage

Let’s face it mortgages are daunting; with interest rates, terms, and credit scores. Many things can make finding a mortgage a challenge but what are the most important things you need to know before taking out a mortgage? Well, you’re in luck, these are three main takeaways that you should know before taking out a mortgage.

SAVE SAVE SAVE

When preparing yourself to take out a mortgage, being financially secure is extremely important. You will want to have enough to make sure you have enough for a good down payment. This isn’t the only reason you want to be saving though. You will also want to have enough in your account for any unexpected expenses that may pop up due to things such as closing costs, and inspections. Liquidity (cash) is just as important as saving for a down payment. Banks and other financial lending institutions look at the balance of your accounts prior to approval to validate your ability to afford your desired home.

Along with saving, you will want to keep your account in order. Avoid overdrafts, late …

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Difficulties with mortgage repayments?

The Irish Bankers Federation has produced a guide for people who may be having difficulty in servicing their mortgage. This is a timely publication and relevant to many consumers. We previously published our Repossession Guide in early 2009 but it doesn’t cover the new Code of Conduct for Mortgage Arrears 2010 and the IBF one does.

Ultimately much of the information is common sense with some of the Code of Conduct being applied, having said that, it is vital to understand and utilise the information contained in the guide if you find yourself in difficulty, as this may be the only thing standing between you and a pointless repossession. Losing your home is one thing, doing it unnecessarily is another.

There is a wider question in Ireland about how we are going to solve our mortgage mess, the figures of houses in serious arrears continue to increase and forbearance cannot become a long …

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Talk the talk and walk the walk (economically speaking)

I wrote an article back at the end of 2005 called ‘the changing face of the mortgage market’ and I sent it off to a few newspapers and several magazines, it went largely un-noticed, when I say ‘largely’ I actually mean ‘totally’. Apparently I was ranting lunacy or something close to it, if you know me you’ll also know that this was a possibility….

Last weekend in a smokey Krakow it was mentioned during a conversation that you need to make a call on things and then fall on your face when you are wrong but remain vindicated when you are right. In the spirit of that conversation (with thanks to our own resident Enda Munnelly) I will list the predictions I had and then we can either collectively laugh at me or not. The main thing is that I put my predictions on the line and show whether or not I can walk the walk.

1. More than 100%!

Traditionally there were two things stopping people from getting a mortgage, the first was qualifying for the loan, the second …

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