Are you planning on buying your first home? Or are you moving and will be refinancing your mortgage? We met with one of our mobile mortgage specialists recently and she gave us some tips on improving your chances of getting a good mortgage. We also checked online and found some advice, so here's a compilation of top mistakes that hurt your credit score.

1. Paying bills late. Even paying just one day late can hurt your score. Mark your calendar or set up an automatic payment plan with your bank.

2. Not checking your credit reports. You really should try to do this once a year. Apparently there can be some mistakes on there or unfortunately, identity fraud, so it's prudent to do this. Check out www.equifax.ca or www.transunion.ca for more info.

3. Maxing out your credit cards. If you do that, it shows that you are using too much of your available credit. Try to give that credit card a break and use another one... but try to keep it at less than half of your available credit.

4. Using cash over credit. If you use cash, you can't show your lenders how well you handle debt. So then you don't have much of a credit history.

5. Applying for extra cards. Not a good idea as it may look like you are desperate for credit. Closing credit cards on the other hand is not a good sign either. You are ultimately shrinking your amount you are allowed to borrow. However, if you are concerned about identity theft, annual fees,etc, then by all means close the account.

If you find out that your credit score isn't very good, some mortgage specialists will work with you to improve your score. It may take 6 months to a year, but that is well worth it to get your financing in order to ultimately get the home you want.

If you have any questions about applying for a mortgage to buy a home or finding a good mortgage broker, feel free to contact us info@holmesteam.ca.

* Please note, this is general information only and should not be taken as specialist advice. If you need more specific information, contact your mortgage specialist/broker.

Cheers,

Greg & Liz