Authorify - Investors Book Preview

didn’t claim it, you’ll still have to pay it. You might as well get the deduction while you can, and perhaps consider setting it aside for when you do end up selling the property.

ALL ABOUT CREDIT SCORES

As I briefly mentioned, credit scores can play an important role in getting financing and the rates you’ll need to pay. I want to talk in detail about what makes up a credit score so you’ll know what you need to do, should you want to improve it. First, your score is a number that tells lenders how likely you are to pay back the money. When you have a higher score, you get better rates, which leads to long-term savings and more money in your pocket.

Credit scores are often based on the FICO scoring model. They can range from 300 to 850:

• Bad credit: 300-600 • Poor credit: 600-649 • Fair credit: 650-699 • Good credit: 700-749 • Excellent credit: 750-850

The determining factors and how much weight they carry vary between credit agencies (TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax). However, the following five are the major contributors to your score:

• Payment history: 35%

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