Trying to qualify for a mortgage? Then you know that your credit score is vitally important to obtaining a mortgage approval. Every FICO point is especially important if you are trying to qualify for a bad credit mortgage loan.

If you need a slight increase in your score in order to qualify for the mortgage you need, take a look at your credit card balances. The most important information is that which is found on the credit report your lender pulled. The balances reported on a credit report may not be the same as your actual current balances. This can be due to lags in reporting by your creditors.

Credit card balances that are over certain thresholds of your maximum limit can negatively affect your FICO score. The rule is that a balance > 50% of the max will have the most negative effect on your score, a balance at > 30% of the max will have the second-greatest effect on your score, and a balance > 10% of the max will have a slight negative effect on your score.

Even if you are not over 50% of the max on your accounts, reporting errors can contribute to a lower FICO score. Some common errors are:

- Max credit card limit reporting incorrectly.
- Max limit not reporting- card will be assumed to be maxed out completely.
- Balance not current- actual balance lower than reported.

If you want to maximize your FICO score, pay down your credit card balances to less than 50% of the limits on all of them and make sure they are reporting correctly on your credit report. These steps may be the difference between a mortgage approval or denial.