If you're dreaming of setting up housekeeping in that cottage with the white picket fence - or that condo in the sky - you'll either need a lot of money in your pocket, or good credit.
And, you won't know unless you ask. If either you or your beloved has bad credit, your dream could go up in smoke. In fact, if one of you has really bad credit, you might not even be able to rent a decent apartment.
A life coach would probably tell you not to marry until you both learn to handle money wisely - and that's not a bad idea.
If, however, you are determined to marry soon, settle your housing question before the wedding.
If you plan to rent, do it now, in the name of the party with the best credit.
If you plan to buy, get started with a mortgage lender and find out how much you can spend for a house based solely on the income of the person with the best credit scores.
Because your mortgage lender will only be able to use that one income, you may have to settle for a little less expensive house than you'd prefer, but that's not really a bad thing. It means that when you combine your incomes, making that payment each month will be far easier than if you'd borrowed to the limit of what you can afford together.
Remember, Realtors and Mortgage brokers get paid a percentage based on the dollar value of your purchase. That means both of them will encourage you to spend just as much as your debt to income ratios will allow.
Spending less may not buy you the house of your dreams, but it will allow you to live a less stressful life. And it will help you build equity in a house that you can sell later, when you're in a better position to "move up."
Today the housing market is being flooded with repossessed homes. Lenders can't keep homes in inventory for too long, so prices will be dropping monthly This is good news for you if you're a careful and smart shopper and can wait just a bit to buy. Perhaps that wedding should be postponed for 6 months or a year...
All they need is your social security number - and that isn't hard to get any more.
From that they can determine many things to some degree of accuracy.
For instance, they'll see how many different addresses you've used over the past 7 years, how many new accounts you've opened, how many times you've gone shopping for major purchases, and even who you might have helped out by co-signing a loan.
The top portion of a credit report includes names, nicknames, old and current addresses, Social Security number, birth date, and current and previous employers.
Thus, a prospective employer looking at your credit report will see if you've been job-hopping. That's something you'd rather they didn't know, because it will definitely hurt your chances of being hired. He or she will also see if you move from city to city with regularity - and if you do, will weigh the odds of you leaving after they invest the time to train you in a new position.
They'll know if you pay your income tax on time, because the report will show any tax liens, along with bankruptcies and judgments.
They'll even know if you've changed spouses, because your credit report shows who shared responsibility for each debt.
Looking at your financial life gives people an impression of you, and of how you conduct your life in general. Of course that's nobody's business - but it's a fact.
Strangely enough, the Big Three credit bureaus don't always have the same information, because they compile their data independently of each other. That's one reason why it's important for you to obtain a credit report that shows the findings from Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union.
Usually, when a lender pulls your credit report he or she will find that the big Three have each assigned a different score - sometimes as much as 40 points apart. Some lenders will act based on the middle score, while others will go with the lowest score.
Because of this discrepancy, it's in your best interests to know what information each credit bureau has - and is sending out in response to inquiries. (Remember, if you find an error on your credit report, you need to notify each of these credit bureaus, not just one.)
Conversely, if you've been a victim of identity fraud, you can contact one and it will notify the others. Get your free credit report today - see if the world has an accurate picture of who you really are.
Both John Rasor & Mike Clover are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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