The Impact of Home Ownership on Your Credit Rating | First Bank (2024)

If you’re in the market for a home, you’ve probably spent some time cleaning up your credit. After all of that hard work, you may wonder what impact a mortgage will have on your credit rating.

In most cases, a mortgage WILL impact your credit. Below, we outline what that impact will look like, and how you can successfully secure your new home loan and keep your score in the safe zone.

How Shopping for a Mortgage Affects Your Credit

Your credit rating is one of the largest factors used to determine whether or not you get a mortgage and what your interest rate will be.

Lenders will need to pull your credit report in order to get all of the necessary information—this is known as a credit inquiry. Typically, a credit inquiry will knock your credit score down by a few points.

But, if you keep all credit inquiries within the same 30-day window as you’re shopping for a home, all pulls will count as a single inquiry, lessening the overall impact on your rating.

Otherwise, spreading your mortgage rate out over the course of a few months can add up and may hurt your credit significantly.

How Getting a Mortgage Affects Your Credit

Total debt is a significant contributor to your credit rating. By taking on a mortgage, you will be adding a large debt to your credit.

Mortgages are considered installment debt (other examples include student loans and vehicle loans). Generally, installment debt is looked upon more favorably than revolving debt, such as credit cards.

In the short term, your credit score will likely drop. But in most cases, with regular payments, your credit will be back to normal within 3 to 6 months after getting your mortgage.

How Paying Your Mortgage Affects Your Credit

Roughly 30 to 35% of a credit score is based on payment history. Even with a large debt like a mortgage, making your payments proves to lenders that you can afford your home.

If you always make your payments on time, you will start to see your credit rating begin to climb. Set up automatic bank drafts to guarantee you’re never late paying your mortgage.

In addition to the impact of a good payment history, paying your mortgage will decrease your overall loan amount over time, which will also help to improve your credit rating.

The Takeaway

Although a mortgage will lower your score slightly in the beginning, home ownership can be a great step toward a financially secure future. If you know how much home you can afford and avoid late payments, your credit will become stronger than ever.

The Impact of Home Ownership on Your Credit Rating | First Bank (2024)

FAQs

The Impact of Home Ownership on Your Credit Rating | First Bank? ›

How Paying Your Mortgage Affects Your Credit. Roughly 30 to 35% of a credit score is based on payment history. Even with a large debt like a mortgage, making your payments proves to lenders that you can afford your home. If you always make your payments on time, you will start to see your credit rating begin to climb.

How does home ownership affect credit score? ›

Buying a home can improve your credit score if you keep up with mortgage payments. A higher credit score can still help you even after you buy a home. You can get better interest rates on future loans and apply for a refinance in the future. Homeownership and credit building can make a great pair.

Does your house affect your credit score? ›

Changing your address regularly won't change your credit score but it could affect your ability to get credit. The reason is because lenders like to see stability in your personal details.

Why did my credit score drop 100 points after buying a house? ›

Why did your new mortgage drop your credit score by 100 points? Your new mortgage can cause your score to drop because it's a new account and likely a significant debt added to your credit history. Once you establish a positive payment history, your score will likely increase.

Does owning a house outright help your credit? ›

If you own a home outright there's no credit involved and no record in a credit file, so it can't contribute to your credit score. However, a mortgage on a property recorded on your credit file can contribute favorably to your credit score when you maintain on-time payments.

How much will credit score go up after paying off a mortgage? ›

Will Paying Off Your Mortgage Affect Your Credit Score? No, paying off your mortgage early won't have a significant effect on your credit scores.

How much does your credit score go up after selling a house? ›

As a strategy, selling a house simply to improve a credit score is not a great option. There are too many variables to consider and the amount of improvement is likely to be insignificant.

Why is my credit score so low when I have no debt? ›

Various weighted factors mean that even with no credit, your credit score could still be low because the length of your credit history or credit mix, for example, could also be low.

Why has my credit score gone down 200 points? ›

Lenders and other service providers report arrears, missed, late or defaulted payments to the credit reference agencies, which may have a negative impact on your credit score. Making payments on time is an important way to show you can manage your finances responsibly.

What hurts your credit score? ›

Highlights: Even one late payment can cause credit scores to drop. Carrying high balances may also impact credit scores. Closing a credit card account may impact your debt to credit utilization ratio.

Why is my credit score going down when I pay on time? ›

Using more of your credit card balance than usual — even if you pay on time — can reduce your score until a new, lower balance is reported the following month. Closed accounts and lower credit limits can also result in lower scores even if your payment behavior has not changed.

Why did my credit score drop 40 points after paying off debt? ›

It's possible that you could see your credit scores drop after fulfilling your payment obligations on a loan or credit card debt. Paying off debt might lower your credit scores if removing the debt affects certain factors like your credit mix, the length of your credit history or your credit utilization ratio.

How long does it take to improve credit score 100 points? ›

In fact, some consumers may even see their credit scores rise as much as 100 points in 30 days. Steps you can take to raise your credit score quickly include: Lower your credit utilization rate. Ask for late payment forgiveness.

Is it better to have cash or property? ›

While real estate is more lucrative over time than holding cash, it has more risk. On the other hand, holding onto money or putting it into something safe like a CD or savings account might earn smaller yields, but you have less chance of losing it altogether. Luckily, you don't need to choose just one place to invest!

What is a good credit score? ›

Generally speaking, a good credit score is 690 to 719 in the commonly used 300-850 credit score range. Scores 720 and above are considered excellent, while scores 630 to 689 are considered fair. Scores below 630 fall into the bad credit range.

What is the cheapest way to get equity out of your house? ›

A home equity line of credit, or HELOC, is typically the most inexpensive way to tap into your home's equity.

Will my credit go down if I sell my house? ›

Selling a house may seem like an easy way to cash in on a hefty profit or use the money to buy a new home, but most people don't realize that selling a house can affect their credit. A homeowner must pay off existing mortgage loans and clear all liens against the property when selling their home.

Does a mortgage count as debt? ›

Is a mortgage considered debt? A mortgage is a type of secured debt because the real estate you're financing is used as collateral against the loan. Non-mortgage debt is any other type of debt that's not secured by real estate, such as personal loans, student loans, auto loans and credit cards.

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