If you’re thinking about buying a home, how soon should you have your credit checked?

It’s never too early to check your credit!

In other words, it’s something you should do as soon as you start thinking about buying a house. That way, if anything needs to be fixed or if something needs to be done to improve your credit score, you will (hopefully) have plenty of time to take care of it.

Waiting until right before you’re ready to put in an offer can create a stressful situation if there’s something on your credit report that you were unaware of, or if your score is not as high as it needs to be. While it is true that having your credit checked impacts your credit score, it’s also true that you can’t buy a home without a credit check.

So if you’re thinking of buying a home, it’s a good idea to avoid other types of credit checks – such as shopping for a car or opening a credit card – but plan on at least one credit check from a mortgage lender. After 90 days the credit report expires, and after 120 days the impact of the credit check stops affecting your credit score.

If you’re thinking you want to buy this summer, NOW would be a good time to check your credit to see how it looks, then plan on having an updated report pulled when you’re ready to put in an offer.

Plus, your real estate agent will thank you!