Having a lot of credit inquiries will increase your score. This indicates to lenders that you are considering changing your credit situation.

You can use debt to help you get out of debt. By using the equity in your home and going into deeper debt against the house you can payoff debt with higher rates. So if your paying 15-18% on a credit card then paying off that card can certainly be a great move!

A lot of inquiries for things such as credit cards in a short period of time is definitely going to have a seriously negative affect on your credit score. Therefore, if you apply for a credit card every time you go somewhere just to get a cool free gift, this is going to negatively affect your credit and lower your credit score. Therefore, make sure you think before you apply to be safe.

When shopping for a mortgage be careful when using internet web sites which promise to have banks compete or offer up to 4 quotes from lenders. The number of inquiries to your credit report that these forms generate can be astonishing, literally dozens. Instead, consider inquiring with a mortgage broker, either via telephone or via an internet form which does not require your social security number. This way, you can shop hundreds of wholesale lenders with only a single credit inquiry, saving your credit score and your money over the long run.

When you are consolidating debt like credit cards, you are dealing with two different types of interest. Revolving credit lines carry compounded interest vs. A home equity loan that carries simple interest. A simple interest loan will make getting out of debt much easier. Ask your loan professional for more information.

If you are unable to refinance due to any number of reasons, then the more traditional way of getting out debt (and improving your credit) can be employed. Make a list off all your debts with the listed minimum payment of each. Now list beside that what payment you are actually making on each debt. Take all the little amounts that you are paying extra and combine it onto the debt that has the highest interest rate. This will pay down that one fastest saving you the interest you would otherwise have been paying. Once this debt is paid off, then use the same method on the next highest interest rate debt – repeat. This will pay off your credit cards and other debts quickly allowing you to increase your credit score and payoff your debt!

A good mortgage professional who is refinancing you for the purpose of taking cash out and consolidating debt will not only find a loan program for you that provides you with the cash to stabilize your debt, but they will also try to put you in a position where you maintain that stability and don’t need to continuously draw upon your home’s equity to bail yourself out of debt troubles.

Do credit inquiries affect my credit score? This is one of the most confused and commonly asked questions by consumers shopping for a mortgage. The answer to this question is yes and know. How can the answer be both you may ask? Applying for a lot of credit cards and such will result in a credit inquiry each time you apply. This will in turn result in a negative affect to your credit score. However, if you are shopping for a mortgage or an auto loan, the credit repositories realize that most people are applying with multiple companies to find the best deal out there and they will allow the consumer a 30 day window in most instances to shop around for a mortgage loan and have their credit pulled by as many mortgage companies as they want to find the best deal. All of these inquiries for a mortgage within that 30 day window (30 day window starts with first mortgage inquiry) will only count as one inquiry however for credit scoring purposes. All of the inquiries will still report to your credit report as inquiries so that you can always see who is pulling or has pulled your credit, they just simply will count as one inquiry for credit scoring purposes though.

If you are planning on consolidating your debt with a new mortgage be careful to avoid the spending habit’s that lead to so much debt in the first place. Consolidating unsecured credit card debt with a loan secured by your home is only a wise move if you are confident that the credit cards will not get maxed out again.

Each credit repository, Equifax, Experian and transunion, all update their credit scoring models every now and then. Just like with a computer and it’s operating system such as windows 95, windows 2000, windows xp, etc the credit bureaus update their technology and their scoring models as well. Not all lenders use the same models for each different credit bureau. Some lenders use older models because they are usually cheaper while others use the most updated model. This is one reason why there are sometimes discrepancies or variances from lender to lender on actual credit scores.