"A" Credit:

To make this credit grade, the following statements should generally describe you:

Housing expenses — No late payments on your rent or mortgage in the last year

Installment debt — No more than one 30-day late payment on your car or student loan accounts in the last year

Revolving debt — No more than two 30-day late payments on your credit card or department store accounts in the last year. Generally, balances are less than 20% of available credit limits

Adverse accounts — No 60-day, 90-day, or 120-day late payments, collection items, charge-offs, tax liens, judgments or delinquent properties in the last 2 years

Bankruptcies — At least 4 years have passed since your chapter 7 or 13 bankruptcy was settled or discharged

Foreclosure actions — At least 4 years have passed on your foreclosure settlement or discharge

Outstanding debts — You are currently making payments on at least 4 credit accounts for either revolving credit, installment debt or mortgage loans. At the most, your debts represent 36% of your gross income; lenders refer to this number as your debt-to-income ratio.

Self-employed — At least self-employed for 2 years or longer

If you appear to have A credit, congratulations! At Countrywide Bank's Full Spectrum Lending Division, we can help you with your home loan needs, whether to purchase a home, tap into your home equity to get cash, or refinance to lower your monthly payments and build equity fast. Call for a free, no obligation loan consultation today.

Don't have A credit quite yet? Countrywide offers loan solutions for people with a wide range of credit profiles. Some options can help you to improve your credit score and consolidate your debt. If you're like most people with credit challenges, chances are that you can rebuild your credit and possibly achieve A- credit within one to two years or so! Amazingly, many homeowners who have sub-prime loans with other lenders are able to refinance into a prime loan with Countrywide.

Our Rebuilding Credit Guide can help you learn more about credit, how it affects home loan interest rates, and steps you can take improve your credit score. At Countrywide, we want to help you better understand the importance of your credit rating and launch you on your way to an A credit profile with us.