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Credit Lessons to Teach the Youth in your Life!

Published by Meghan Van Houten on

As we grow up, we learn lessons through our mistakes, and the mistakes of those in our lives. The best thing we can do with those lessons is to grow from them, and to teach those younger than us so that they can avoid them!

So why do I, a Mortgage Agent, want to discuss this? Because Money mistakes are not fun nor easy to correct, so listen to the advice of those who have gone before you!

Lets discuss some of the biggest mistakes I see on a regular basis!

Running away from debts

We’ve all had that friend who has said “Oh I just stopped paying my phone bill, no big deal”.

WRONG!

Any debt that you open in your name, will be reported and come back to bite you later if you don’t handle it correctly.

Always pay your bills on time, always pay off your debts in full and then close them if you desire, never just run away hoping it won’t catch up with you!

Buying the big lavish items

So you want the newest computer, the fancy car, or to go on that vacation with your friends, I get it, you’ve gotta live and enjoy life.

Before you spend that money, Can you afford it?

Unless you can buy it outright, or pay it off in full prior to applying for a mortgage, DON’T BUY IT! Yes I am including car leases, or finance options.

Every single penny of debt you have, impacts your borrowing capacity which impacts the amount of mortgage you can obtain.

So the more debt you have, the larger down payment you will need, or you will have to look for cheaper properties.

Paying Bills late

Listen, life happens, occasionally we need to put our life expenses on credit for various reasons. That’s understandable, but paying those bills on time, is crucial.

I’m not saying this simply because we all want to avoid interest charges, but because every time you are a cycle late (a full month) on paying your bills, it is reported to the credit bureau.

So how does that impact you? Lender’s don’t want missed payments on credit bureaus. If you have a really good reason, or it has been a long time, you may be forgiven, but it does create problems for obtaining an approval

The more cycles you miss, the poorer your rating becomes, and the bigger impact to your borrowing abilities for a mortgage (or any other credit for that matter).

No you don’t have to pay the bill in full, but always make the minimum payment owing ON TIME!

There are many other pieces of advice I can offer, but these are the big three credit issues that regularly impact people’s ability to borrow for a mortgage.

If you have any questions about mortgages, getting in the best borrowing position, or any other home financing questions, please feel free to contact me any time.

Meghan Van Houten – Mortgage Agent
416-709-9062
[email protected]
Mountainview Mortgages – The Mortgage Centre
5038 Fairview Street, Burlington, ON L7L 0B4
Independently owned and operated
Lic# 12568