Remodel your credit before you begin home renovations

<font size="3" color="#990000"><strong>Remodel your credit before you begin home renovations</strong></font> <p><span style="line-height: 200%; font-family: ‘Verdana’,’sans-serif’; letter-spacing: 1pt; font-size: 10pt">(ARA) – Improved resale value, more space or better use of the space you have, and a brand-new room to enjoy – it may be hard to imagine a downside to renovating a kitchen or bathroom. But you could discover a dark side to remodeling – if you decide to finance the project by borrowing before you check your credit.</span></p><span style="line-height: 200%; font-family: ‘Verdana’,’sans-serif’; letter-spacing: 1pt; font-size: 10pt"><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">With the real estate market still limping along in many areas of the country, you may decide that it makes more sense to improve the home you have, rather than move into a new one. And you wouldn’t be alone in that philosophy. Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies predicts Americans will spend nearly $141 billion on remodeling in the first half of 2011.</p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">The economy may be driving the renovation trend in another way, as well. Interest rates are low – for those who qualify with good credit. So it makes sense to know what’s on your credit report and what your credit score is before you make plans to renovate your kitchen, bath or any other room in the house. </p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">If you plan to use credit to finance a renovation project (and few of us can afford to pay cash these days), be proactive and understand your credit with these simple steps:</p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><strong>* Find out where you stand. </strong></p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">Although it’s fairly easy to obtain a free credit report and score online, many Americans aren’t confident about where they stand in terms of credit. Your first step toward making your renovation dreams a reality is to find out how potential lenders will perceive your credit worthiness.</p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">Reviewing your credit score through Websites like <a href="http://www.freecreditscore.com" target="_blank">freecreditscore.com</a> can help you get a clear picture of how potential creditors might perceive your use of credit. Membership in the site’s credit monitoring membership can also help you keep on top of your credit by sending you e-mail alerts when something changes on your credit report.</p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><strong>* Take action – and keep at it.</strong></p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">If you find errors on your credit report, contact the major bureaus and dispute the<span>  </span>errors. It’s also a good idea to monitor your report regularly, throughout the year, as identity theft or instances of fraud could show up on it, alerting you quickly to a situation you otherwise might not have discovered for months.</p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> </p><div style="text-align: center"><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,29,0" width="425" height="282"><param name="movie" value="../images/banners/1b.swf" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="menu" value="false" /><param name="wmode" value="" /><embed src="../images/banners/1b.swf" wmode="" quality="high" menu="false" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="282"></embed></object></div>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">Your credit score is a fluid number, and it can change throughout the year as you improve your payment records, miss or delay a payment, and open or close lines of credit. Many factors go into calculating your credit score, but generally bureaus take into account how reliably you pay bills on time, the total amount you owe in secured and unsecured debt, and how much unused credit you have available.</p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><strong>* Get an idea of the impact.</strong></p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">Knowing your credit score not only better empowers you to bargain for the optimum loan terms, it can also help you understand how that new renovation loan will affect your score and report. You can find a credit score estimator at <a href="http://www.freecreditscore.com" target="_blank">freecreditscore.com</a> that can give you an idea of how changes in your credit report might affect your score.</p>  <p><span style="line-height: 200%; font-family: ‘Verdana’,’sans-serif’; letter-spacing: 1pt; font-size: 10pt">Whether you’re remodeling just one room in a house or the entire house, funding the project can affect your finances, including your credit score. If you make sure you understand – and have a handle on – your credit before undertaking a project, you’ll be more likely to reap the rewards, and avoid the downside, of home renovation.</span></p></span>