You have found the home of your dreams, now you just need to apply for the loan. Getting a mortgage loan can be a lot of work and it can't be done by just anyone. Banks like FCN Bank and other lenders require a certain criteria from borrowers before they hand over the money for a house. If you are in the market to purchase a home and can't pay for it all at once, you will need to secure a mortgage loan. In order to do this, you need to have a decent credit score. While all lenders require a different score in order to get a loan, the higher your score is, the less interest you end up paying. This can save you thousands of dollars over the course of the loan. Here are some tips for boosting your score.

Check for Errors

Experts recommend checking your credit report annually to help catch any mistakes that could be plaguing your credit score. Errors on your credit report could be dragging down your score. Your credit score is averaged out by three credit reporting companies. You want to make sure you get reports from each of these companies as not all lenders will report to all of them. Each of the reporting companies have a dispute form that can either be filled out and submitted online or mailed in. If you find an error on your credit report, you want to make sure you gather all supporting documents and dispute it right away to remove the error in a timely manner. 

Save Up

One of the best ways to help boost your credit score is to quit relying on credit to make purchases. Every time you place an expense on your credit card, you are limiting your buying power. Banks will monitor your spending and credit utilization. In order to keep your credit card balances down, you want to have an emergency fund and a savings account available so that you do not have to worry about charging things on your credit cards or taking out loans. Cutting back on fixed expenses will allow you to save more and essentially safeguard your credit. 

Shop Smart

Every time you apply for credit, an inquiry shows up on your credit report. While it can be smart to shop around for the best interest rates, you could also be hurting your credit score in the process. In order to avoid having too many inquiries on your credit report, you want to only inquire as little as possible. In order to help ensure that your approval is done ahead of time, you should opt to get preapproved for the mortgage. This ensures you are approved for the loan before the inquiries start to hit your credit report. It can also help you in the event your credit score drops some after you start to the searching process.