Mortgage Consolidation: Can Debt Consolidation Help Increase my Score?
Credit card debt and revolving charges determines 30% of your FICO scores. High balances or, more precisely, balances that are close to your credit limit can negatively affect your personal credit scores. Thus, one of the best ways to improve your credit rating is by paying off outstanding debts. A debt mortgage consolidation
loan by means of mortgage refinancing or a home equity loan (second mortgage) can help you do this. On top of that, you may be able to deduct up to 100% of the interest you pay from your taxes.
With the new, tougher bankruptcy laws in effect, consolidating your credit card debt with a second mortgage or home equity loans and other consumer debt is a far better option for debt relief than bankruptcy. The way debt consolidation helps your FICO credit scores not only by raising them, but also by lowering your debt-to-income ratio. A debt-to-income ratio is a measure of financial stability calculated by dividing monthly minimum debt payments by monthly gross income. Typically, the lower your ratio, the better handle you have on debt.
The only ways a debt consolidation loan can hurt your FICO scores is if you run up too many inquiries shopping for a loan, run up the debts again after getting the loan or you stop paying your bills on time. If you need a loan, according to Fair Isaac and Company (the creators of the FICO credit scoring system), do your rate shopping within a focused period of time, such as 30 days. FICO scores distinguish between a search for a single loan and a search for many new credit lines, in part by the length of time over which inquiries occur.
For example, if you have a $200,000 mortgage at 5% for 30 years, your
interest costs $186,513.24. Say you refinance for an additional $10.000,
but now your rate jumps to 6%. Your interest costs jumps to $231,677.04
- an increase over $45,000. It would have been better to go with a home
equity loan. Using A Home Equity Loan. A home equity loan allows you to use your equity without affecting your current mortgage rate. In some cases, it can also protect you from
having to provide private mortgage insurance, an additional cost.
If you spread out your new loan over a longer period of time, you can lower your monthly payments. This is a great opportunity to make your payments in time and thereby improve your credit score. When you have a better credit score, you will be able to get loans cheaper in the future.
Learn more about Obama Mortgage Relief Plan Qualifications.
July 22, 2011
|
Posted by John Roney
Categories:
Tags: