What elements make up your credit score?

Jane Kepley

CR Properties

When you buy a home, your credit score plays an essential role: it can impact what loans you're eligible for and the interest rate you get (which will affect your monthly payment costs).

But what determines your score? The exact elements depend on which scoring method you're looking at, and lenders often use FICO.

Generally speaking, credit scores range from 300 to 850 and are influenced by the following five factors:

Payment history: Paying credit card dues and other monthly bills on time can help increase your credit score. It can hurt your score to be consistently...