Last night on the news I saw this piece from KOMO News 4's Connie Thompson about a survey and quiz centered around how much consumers actually know about their credit scores.

The multiple-choice quiz is completely free and there are no gimmicks… it started as a nationwide survey from the non-profit organization Consumer Federation of America. Some of the questions are no brainers, but for the common consumer there will certainly be some wrong answers (the average score is only 60%).

Understanding how credit works is an important part of being a home buyer and your ability to buy real estate. Knowing what can negatively impact your credit score (i.e. collections, late payments, too many credit inquiries, carrying high balances on credit cards, etc) is a start at maintaining good scores, but are you aware of things you can be doing to improve your credit scores? A quality mortgage professional will have a strong understanding of the factors that impact your credit scores, and he/she will be a great person to talk to about your scores. They will be able to look at your credit report and suggest ways to improve your scores.

- Robert E. Wasser - Seattle and Bellevue real estate market trends, news, and blog