Unknown Credit issues. More often than not we see items on people’s credit that they did not know where there. And as I’m sure you guessed it, any surprise on a credit report is an unwelcome one. The main down side to discovering an issue on your credit in this scenario, is that you are discovering it at the time you want to purchase or refinance. Most credit issues can be resolved with a little bit of work and communication, however out about them at the time you are trying to purchase or refinance may end up holding you back from your ultimate goal. So if you identify yourself in the category of people who are getting ready but not quite ready to buy or refinance, the “thinking about it” club, then I strongly suggest taking a look at your credit before you have your heart set on that new home or low interest rate, and if your reading this post, the next step is as simple as clicking my email below, and we can get you into a position where hen the time is right, you are truly ready to buy or refinance. No surprises. Scott@GreenMeansGrow.com
June is National Homeownership Month, so it’s an appropriate time to ask: Have you ever thought about buying your own home? Surprisingly, rates fell during Q2 2014 which means it could be the perfect time to get started. Owning your own home can help you build a strong foundation for the future. It can bring financial security for your family and stability for your children. It creates community stakeholders who have a vested interest in their neighborhoods. The first stop on the road to homeownership is your credit. The reason for pulling a credit report is to see exactly how credit healthy you are which will allow you to take an informed next step. If it could use a boost when is the best time to repair credit? The answer is always yesterday. Credit repair is time consuming and the sooner you start the better off you’ll be. With an improved credit score of say 50 points could mean thousands of dollars in savings over the life of your loan. With homeownership being a long-term asset making the investment now to improve your credit will no doubt pay for itself down the road. And remember this will also improve the terms for anything you finance like cars, credit cards, and student loans. You might be thinking that if you take six months to improve or repair your credit
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is the new Boss in town, when it comes to lending. It is responsible for many of the changes we’ve seen in the lending environment of late. Many would say they’ve simply made it harder to borrower or lender money. But recently they’ve helped a bit by putting some info together on a new resource for disputing a credit report error. Some of this info is old news, but there are some good tips in here too. Here’s a link to the article titled Now you have better options to dispute a credit report. If you have some things you haven’t been able to work out on your report, check it out and let me know if it was useful for you. You can also give me a call or send me an email with questions about this. Remember, a good credit score can save you thousands of dollars in the cost of your borrowing. It’s worth it to put some time into making sure your report is correct. Jeremy Beck Mortgage Planner Credit Watchdog 858-863-
Because I help a lot of First Time Homebuyers and Families on the Grow, I’m often asked what is the Best / Fastest / Easiest way to improve your credit before buying a home. Well the truth is that your credit report and score are much like a finger print. They are very unique and specific to you and your history. But there are 3 quick and easy things just about everyone can do to ensure they have the best score possible when getting pre-approved for a home loan. Of course the first thing to do is get a copy of your credit report. That may mean using some internet option, or contacting someone like me who can pull your report and guide you through reviewing it. Then 1- Make current ANY bad debts – This may seem obvious, but I can’t tell you how many times I meet folks with a delinquent parking ticket or something that they “didn’t deserve”. See the thing is your credit score doesn’t take into consideration if you “deserved it” or not. If it’s on there, then it effects you. So pay off that $20 parking ticket as it’ll save you much more over time to have a better score 2- Lower your debt ratios – Keep your debts below 25% of your available credit limit if possible. Often I see folks with only
The Hardest and Easiest Home Loans to Get By: Chris Birk It seems the Great Thaw may be upon us. Credit score requirements have loosened in recent months, a sign that at least some mortgage lenders are starting to take a softer approach after years of tight lending. Nearly a third of all successful mortgage applications in August featured FICO scores below 700, according to mortgage technology behemoth Ellie Mae. In August 2012, only about 15% of green-lighted borrowers had a sub-700 score. Conventional Loans Conventional home loans are “conventional” because they don’t come with a government backing and generally conform to requirements set by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the biggest purchasers of home loans issued by private lenders. Conventional loans are traditionally tougher to obtain than government-backed mortgages, and that’s still pretty much the case today. Conventional lenders are generally looking for a credit score of at least 740, which is higher than the typical minimum score required for government-backed loans. The average credit score for conventional borrowers in August was 758, according to the Ellie Mae report. You’ll typically need a down payment of at least 5% to secure a conventional loan. Usually anything shy of 20% will require the added expense of monthly mortgage insurance, which you’ll pay until you reach a loan-to-value ratio of 80%. The exact amount will vary based on your down payment,
In an effort to clean up their credit, many folks Dispute items on their credit reports. That’s a common method for fighting things that you feel you do not owe or shouldn’t be on your report. But what most people don’t know is that can actually hurt your ability to get financing on your home. Lenders have now found out that when you have an item marked as “Disputed” on your report, your scores are not accurately reflected as they would be if that item was not disputed. So, in order to get a loan for refinancing or purchasing a home Lenders now require you to remove those dispute marks. That can be a little intimidating and even tricky. But before you go pay some credit company hundreds or even thousands of dollars, try these simple steps yourself. It should save you time, money, and some headaches. Start with the Credit Bureaus – Call them or go online and ask for the dispute remarks to be removed. If you have a credit report already you can get the contact info there. Or you can goto www.annualcreditreport.com You can also call the creditor directly and let them know that you are not disputing the item. They can then remove the Dispute Remark next time they report to the bureaus. Finally, if you can’t get it fixed call me! We do this
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