Last week FICO released information on just how much your credit score is affected by negative activity.
Times are tough when it comes to getting a home loan and the banks are looking ever more closely at home buyers credit scores. Maybe that's the reason why FICO has had a change of heart in its policy of keeping its points system under wraps. Whatever the reason, they are now sharing some information with us on how many points you are likely to lose for common credit mistakes. It's not that they're sharing all their secrets, but as you can see from the table below they do cover the most common credit mistakes like late payments, debt settlement and foreclosure. 
The interesting thing about this table is that it seems folks with good credit get penalized more when they mess up than those who have average credit. Go figure!
I think it's a good thing that FICO has released this information. I think it will help home buyers to better assess their situation and maybe take away some of the "angst" they have from talking to a lender. I know I have often talked to people who imagine the worse when they have credit problems. This table will help them in that it takes away the shrouds of secrecy and gives a good idea of what will actually happen.
While I'm talking about credit, you can get a free credit report once a year at annualcreditreport.com. If you're thinking of buying a home in the spring, now might be a good time to do that. That way you if you do find something unexpected you can work on it before you get down to the business of getting yourself pre-approved for a home loan.
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Please remember that opinions expressed in my blog are just that - opinions - not fact
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Although the information provided is deemed reliable, it's not guaranteed
