When 4.5% Arrives, Be Credit Ready

If you haven’t read Brian’s post below, take a look.  He outlines why 4.5% mortgage rates will happen and also points out that the window for these rates may be quite short.  I’m telling friends and readers to plan on the low rates only lasting a couple of months.  If we do hit the 4.5% mark, you might be bummed if it only holds for 8 weeks and you didn’t get organized because you thought it would last much longer.

What do you need to do from a credit perspective?

1. Don’t run up your credit card expenses in the next few months.
2. Furthermore, cut back your use of credit cards.
3. Don’t cancel credit cards.
4. Don’t open any new credit cards.  
5. Don’t get a new cell phone provider.  Switching carriers usually leads to a new credit inquiry.  It happened to me when I went form T-Mobile to AT&T.  Just wait.
6. Don’t get buy a car on credit.
7. Make sure you handle the credit loan shopping process in a 30 day window.  Why?  Every loan inquiry is added together and treated as 1 inquiry in a 30 day window.  If you shop and then wait 60 days, you should expect an additional inquiry to hit your credit report and score. 
8. If you and your spouse are going to be on the loan, you need to make sure you both have great credit scores.  Thus, follow all the steps above for both of you.  

The card issuers are making it tougher on consumers lately by reducing credit limits and closing down unused cards.  It’s more important than ever to keep tabs on your credit, as interest rates may not be this low again for decades.