A Finance Professional Shares Tips for Boosting Your Credit Score

When you’re approaching the apartment application process, there are certain factors that you can easily control in order to come out on top. You can do your research, be punctual and efficient with your documents, and start your search early. But everywhere from small towns to highly sought after cities see competition in the rental market, so you may have to dig deeper.

If you’re looking for an extra edge when it comes down to the dreaded application process, optimizing your credit score can help. That’s why we spoke to finance associate Allyson Lynch, whose insights into managing your credit can give you that push you need to clinch the apartment you want.

Your credit score places you on a scale from 300 to 850. In this context, your score contributes to the picture of who you are as a renter. “It’s a measure of your creditworthiness,” says Lynch. “It helps a landlord get a sense for your ability to pay and reliability at paying.”

When a prospective landlord is reviewing your application, they will be looking for signs that you’re responsible when it comes to personal finance. Your credit score is a perfect indicator of that, as it’s calculated by a credit bureau and a certified quantifier of your financial profile:

Monitoring your credit score can be tricky because, yes, “a true credit check [a.k.a. a “hard inquiry” or “hard pull” from one of the major credit bureaus] will decrease your credit score,” Lynch tells us. But, these days, there are apps like Credit Karma and Credit Sesame that will report your score without dinging it by doing a “soft credit inquiry.” “Viewing your score on most apps is just an estimation and will have no impact [on your score],” she says. Her choice: the built-in score calculator on her banking app. “My banking app uses Creditwise [which provides a free credit report on demand,] and tells me exactly what factors are impacting my score and what range I would need to be in to move my score up (or down).”

When it comes down to doing the actual work of boosting your credit score, it’s important to remain patient. You have to build credit, so if you’re still starting out with yours, give yourself time and think about applying for apartments with a co-signer, or someone with a more extensive credit history who signs on to pay the lease if you weren’t able to. Otherwise, if you already have good credit or are looking to improve yours, there are ways you can do so over the course of several months.

Lynch says that avoiding missed payments is the number one way to keep your credit score at a baseline solid level. Setting up automatic payments on the monthly due date can help if you’re forgetful or have a particularly busy lifestyle. If you’re finding yourself at risk of falling into credit card debt, don’t forget the power of saving: If you’re feeling short on cash when it comes time for your monthly bill, you can always make tweaks to your budget. Also, keep in mind that your student loans and personal loans are also types of credit. You will need to pay your lenders every month for your loans in addition to your credit card accounts if you want to avoid bad credit.

Especially if your credit is already improving, your spending profile has shifted, or you’re looking for more rewards, you may want to think about opening a new line of credit. But don’t open more than two, maybe three at a time, and keep in mind, with this strategy, your credit will dip over a short period before you see improvement. “Opening a credit card impacts your credit score negatively by initiating an account inquiry, but also positively by increasing your available credit,” says Lynch. But remember: Your length of credit history matters. So, you don’t necessarily want to close old cards when you open new credit cards, as this will decrease your average credit age.

Ideally, your credit utilization ratio will have you spending 30% or less of your available credit each month. If you’re approaching your credit card balance is close to your full limit each month, this could be slowing your credit score’s progress — so it’s best to see if you can get a credit limit increase. Often, if you’ve had your credit card for a while, you’ll be offered a new credit limit which will boost your score. You can also call customer service and ask them to increase your credit line. Finally, make sure your salary information is up to date in your account, because this amount will also affect your credit limit.

If you happen to have errors in your credit reports, which can happen, this can affect your score. If you’re looking to take full control of your credit score, it could be wise to make sure your payment dates are accurate and the identifying information that your card issuer has is all correct. You don’t want any false late payments or mistakes keeping your score down.

As long as you’re financially prepared to handle changes like the above, you can take the reins of your credit profile and find yourself in good standing with your credit card company. You’ll be in better shape for application season if you do so — and get started today before your next search is around the corner. If you have any questions about your credit or your personal finance goals, we recommend seeking the help of a finance professional.