{"id":15376,"date":"2020-03-30T08:54:07","date_gmt":"2020-03-30T15:54:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=15376"},"modified":"2026-04-03T20:23:59","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T03:23:59","slug":"buyer-how-does-buying-a-house-affect-your-credit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-how-does-buying-a-house-affect-your-credit\/","title":{"rendered":"I\u2019m About to Buy a House. What\u2019s Going to Happen to My Credit?"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019ve been saving for years in the hopes of buying a home, you\u2019re probably also keeping close tabs on your credit score<\/a> since it\u2019s a key factor of the home purchase, impacting how large of a loan you can take out and what your monthly payments will look like.<\/p>\n

But what happens to your credit once you\u2019ve taken out the loan? Here\u2019s all the information you need to understand your FICO score, make sure it\u2019s as high as it can be before you apply for a mortgage<\/a>, and keep it there after your home loan goes through.<\/p>\n

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Source: (Alexander Mils \/ Unsplash)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What\u2019s behind a credit score?<\/h2>\n

Your FICO credit score is calculated using a variety of factors<\/a>. Here\u2019s a definition of each of them, how much they impact your final score, and how you can improve your number in each category.<\/p>\n

Payment history (35% of your score)<\/h4>\n

This assesses your past and current accounts to see if you\u2019ve made your payments on time. Because it is worth over one-third of your credit score, it is very important that you always make payments on time. Set up autopay with your credit cards so you\u2019re never late on a payment!<\/p>\n

Amounts owed (30% of your score)<\/h4>\n

It\u2019s ok to have debt, but if you are carrying large balances<\/a> \u2014\u00a0maxing out credit cards, for instance \u2014\u00a0and the percentage of debt is over 30% of your available credit<\/a>, your score could be negatively impacted. For instance, if you have $10,000 of available credit, you\u2019ll want to keep your debt below $3,000.<\/p>\n

Length of credit history (15% of your score)<\/h4>\n

Generally speaking, the longer you\u2019ve had available credit, the better this portion of your credit score will be. It might be a good idea to keep some older accounts open<\/a>, even after you\u2019ve paid off the debt, because they\u2019ll show you have a long credit and payment history.<\/p>\n

Credit mix (10% of your score)<\/h4>\n

This measures the type of debt you\u2019re carrying \u2014\u00a0credit cards vs. student loans vs. mortgages. It\u2019s not important<\/a> to have all of these; the credit mix represents a very small portion of your credit score. However, this could be more important if there\u2019s not a lot of other information on your report to score.<\/p>\n

New credit (10% of your score)<\/h4>\n

This score considers the amount of new accounts you\u2019ve opened in the last year; if you\u2019ve opened several new accounts in a relatively short amount of time, you could be seen<\/a> as a risky borrower.<\/p>\n

Is my credit good enough for a loan?<\/h2>\n

Lenders generally look for a credit score over<\/a> 620 for a conforming loan, but a score of 700 or above will help you get the best rates out there.<\/p>\n

If your score isn\u2019t quite there yet, consider taking these steps to improve it:<\/p>\n