HOW DO I GET A LOW INTEREST RATE?
Everyone wants to get the lowest possible mortgage rate — so how do you go about getting it?
1. Have Good credit
The first thing is you need to have good credit — that’s a no brainer. The higher your credit score, the less interest you’ll have to pay. One thing to remember about credit scores is that small differences can have a significant effect on the interest rate you get. Lenders rank credit scores in tiers, or brackets. If you’ve already got decent credit, moving up or down into the next tier will make a difference of about 0.2 percentage points on the interest rate for a 30-year mortgage — for example, 4.4 percent instead of 4.6 percent.
There’s not a lot you can do to improve your credit in a hurry. Paying down a high debt load is one exception, particularly if it’s credit card debt. If you’re using over one-third of your total debt limit, it could be hurting your credit score. Even 20 percent might take you down a notch.
2. Dispute Inaccurate Information on your credit report.
Fixing errors on your credit report is another way. Order copies of your credit report from each of the three credit reporting agencies (Experian, Equifax and Trans Union — you can get a free report from each once a year) and check for any errors regarding debts or payment history. If you find any, contact the credit agency in question to dispute it, along with copies of any supporting documents.
If the credit reporting agency refuses to delete inaccurate information, you have the right to sue the credit reporting agency under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Contact consumer credit attorney Micah Adkins for a free consultation.