One of the most important, if not the most important, criteria for obtaining a mortgage and the lowest possible interest rate is by having an excellent credit scores.
We found an excellent article on how to improve your credit score.

10 tips for improving your credit standing
By Andrea Coombes, MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MW) -- There are about as many personal-finance resolutions as there are Americans to resolve them, and yet few of them are as wealth-enhancing as improving one's credit standing.
Over a lifetime, getting lower rates on mortgages, auto loans and credit-card debt can lead to hefty savings, enough to fund a good portion of any retirement
"Those who are A-credit vs. those who are D-credit throughout their work-life span will pay approximately $250,000 less in interest," said Paul Strassels, author of Credit When Credit Is Due, a financial-education program offered by consumer credit counseling agencies for about $50.
"You can pay a quarter of a million dollars to the credit card company or you can keep the quarter of a million and use it as you please and invest it in your own retirement," he said, adding that his estimate is based on an average 30-year home mortgage, car loans, and credit card debt.
And increasingly, even the types of jobs and rental housing available to you can depend on your credit score. "Credit has much further reaching implications than it used to," said David Chung, vice president of business development at CreditXpert, Inc., a maker of credit-assessment technology tools used by businesses to aid consumers, based in Towson, MD.
Credit reports are "used in many different ways outside of financial transactions, including employment screening," Chung said. "Even if you're going to rent an apartment, one of the first things they're going to do is check your credit. Based on that, apartment complexes will determine how much or whether or not you have to pay a security deposit."
To polish your creditworthiness and jump-start your savings, the first step is to determine your long-term financial goals. A consumer planning to buy a new car and a house should consider the order of those purchases carefully, Chung said.
For instance, it's beneficial to have at least one installment account on your credit file. A consumer with only revolving accounts might want to purchase the car first, so that installment loan boosts the credit score and improves mortgage offerings.
But if an auto loan is going to end up lowering your score -- perhaps by saddling you with a high level of debt -- wait until after you've gotten the mortgage, so you don't end up paying a premium on that longer-term debt.
The following are some more tips for ramping up your creditworthiness.
Be wary of credit scoring's hidden levers. Every time you apply for a new retail store credit card, your credit score takes a hit. And negative information that's old is sometimes better left alone, Chung says. A 5-year-old collection account loses its punch as it ages. When you pay it, "it goes from being a 5-year-old account to being a current collection account," he said. "It's better that it's paid, but it's worse that it's current and not 5 years old ... I don't want to advocate that people not pay back money that they owe, but it's important to understand what's going to happen when you pull which lever."
Don't consolidate credit-card debt and then close out old cards. Consumers who consolidate all cards into one are "effectively killing their credit history from other cards," said Steve Rhode, president of MyVesta.org, a nonprofit consumer-credit counselor. "If you're trying to improve your credit report, your credit history is one of the biggest factors."
Find your weaknesses. It's likely tattooed on most readers' brains by now, but checking your credit reports at all three reporting agencies -- Experian, Equifax, TransUnion -- remains crucial to understanding what credit-repair work lies ahead for you. Also, married couples should get individual reports, and consumers should collect FICO scores from all three reporting agencies. Among her clients, not one person has received the same score from all three agencies, said Deborah McNaughton, president of Professional Credit Counselors, a consumer-credit counseling firm. "Some of the creditors may only subscribe to one or two and not all of them, which would make a difference on the reporting (and) sometimes there may be inaccurate negative information on one report and not the other."
• Learn more about your credit score and credit reports• Get your credit score and your credit reports
Prioritize your debt. "Total up the damage from the holiday season and the previous year," said Kelly Rote, spokeswoman with Money Management International, a consumer credit counseling agency. "Write down the names of your creditors and how much you owe each and what interest rate they are charging. It gives you a sense of where you are. You need to assess where you are financially today before you can make goals for where you want to be tomorrow."
Consider consolidating your debt by refinancing your home.• Check out the E-LOAN Refinance mortgage calculator• See the latest rates at E-LOAN
Pay your bills on time, religiously, another key to improving credit scores. "The biggest impediment people face is not knowing what their debt is and when it is due on a monthly basis," Strassels said. "By prioritizing those bills that have to be paid, and then divvying up the balance of what you can afford to pay -- with a calendar of due dates -- you can prioritize the debts and you can get them paid in a timely manner every month." Also, married couples should pay bills together, so any divergent goals can be discussed each month, he said.
Pay credit-card debt down to about 30 percent of available credit limit. Exceeding that percentage of your credit limits can lead to a lower credit score.
Get visual. If you're determined to pay off credit-card debt in order to up your credit score to enable, say, a future home purchase, remind yourself why you're working so hard. Paste photos of your dream house -- or at least an affordable house -- near your computer or on your bathroom mirror.
Ease up on your charge card. "A lot of resolutions are 'I'm going to pay off all my credit cards' ... But they're still charging on the cards," McNaughton said. "If you're going to have a New Year's resolution of paying off all your credit card debt, then you need to quit charging. It sounds so simple, but that's what happens: They keep charging.
Negotiate with creditors. If you're struggling with debt and worried about late payments, get on the phone. You might say, "I know I owe you $200 this month, I can only pay you $20 and I need you to eliminate the interest and eliminate the late fee. What can you do for me?" Strassels said. "Learn to negotiate your way through the maze.
Weigh your debt load. If more than 10 percent of your income is going to pay off debt each month, get cracking on a budget. "Fifteen percent means red flags are going to start flying," McNaughton said. "Twenty percent and you've got problems." But remember: Don't include your mortgage payment in that debt calculation
Finally, don't let credit problems in the past stop you from planning for future goals, such as buying a home or car.
And remember that a bad credit