Articles Tagged With: Credit Check

June 3, 2020

Why Your Lender Offered You A Different Interest Rate Than What You Saw Online

House hunters searching for lenders online and comparing home loan interest rates may be seeing rates reported for FHA home loans below the three percent range, and compared to years past those rates are at incredible lows. In the first week of June 2020, FHA mortgage loan interest rates were reported at 2.68%. According to some data aggregators, that percentage represents a 52-week low at press time. The same sources report the high 52-week average for FHA mortgage loan rates at or near 4%. By the time you read this, those numbers will have changed up or down, but as a snapshot of the rates in a given moment in time these numbers are significant. But the low rates you see online are not offered to all loan applicants; do | more...

June 2, 2020

Credit Reports and Accuracy In Credit Reporting For Your Home Loan

By Joe Wallace

Do you know what your credit report says about you right now? If not, you aren’t truly prepared for your home loan application and may learn the hard way about issues on your credit report including identity theft, reporting errors, etc. If you have not looked at your credit reports, you should not fill out loan paperwork; there are many issues that can affect your mortgage loan application and they are directly related to the contents found in your credit file. Three Credit Reporting Agencies, Three Separate Credit Reports Don’t assume you can just pull a single credit report–consider what all three of the major credit reporting agencies have in their files in your name. These agencies do not share information, which makes it more important for you, the future | more...

May 29, 2020

What Affects Your Credit Most As A Home Loan Applicant?

By Joe Wallace

A home loan is one of the most important investments you can make; buying a home means owning property, and being an owner means the potential to watch your investment grow in value over time. Unlike buying a new vehicle, which begins depreciating as soon as you drive it off the lot, buying a home means anticipating more value from your investment and not less. That is one reason why the process of applying for a home loan and getting approved can be so difficult when looking from the outside of the process. The lender has to make sure the borrower is a good credit risk and there are financial benchmarks for doing just that. Credit approval for any large loan depends a combination of factors. One factor is your | more...

What Credit Score Is Needed For An FHA Mortgage?

May 28, 2020

What To Do Before You Need To Apply For A Mortgage

By Joe Wallace

Planning for your home loan should always include a review of your credit reports and credit monitoring after you do that initial review. If you are committed to buying a home or building one from the ground up on your own lot using a One-Time Close construction loan, you should start reviewing your credit at least 12 months before you fill out any loan paperwork. Why? Because if you find errors or other problems on your credit reports, you will need more time than you think to dispute and correct those credit reports. It’s a bad idea to apply for any loan when you have an open dispute that has not been resolved; take the extra time to successfully resolve the problem before you apply for a new line of | more...

May 22, 2020

Home Loan Approval And The Amount of Your Debt

By Bruce Reichstein

Do you need to consider your home loan options? FHA mortgages offer much for both first-time buyers and repeat borrowers. Your choices include new purchase loans, One-Time Close construction loans, reverse mortgages, cash-out FHA refinance loans, and Streamline refinance options when you’re ready to consider a refi loan. No matter what kind of loan you need, for best results you should set aside some time in the early stages of your loan planning; review the last 12 months of credit and loan repayment history and have a good look at your debt-to-income ratio. It is vitally important to do this before the lender does. The Amount Of Debt You Carry Matters The debt to income ratio or DTI for short is one of the most important factors in the lender’s | more...

May 21, 2020

Home Loan Preparation: Credit Issues

By Joe Wallace

Are you worried about your credit? Do you need to do to prepare for a mortgage loan application? There are avenues that can help you get ready for a home loan including advice and assistance with credit questions. We’ll examine your options in this area below, but first it is important to review some of the most common credit problems that stand in a borrower’s way. Home loan and refinance loan approval is not impossible, but for some borrowers it’s necessary to take some extra time to work on credit issues. Here are some credit concerns you should pay attention to so you can raise your credit score: Late And Missed Payments This area is one of the main reasons consumers are denied any kind of loan. Late and missed | more...

May 19, 2020

Credit Requirements For Your FHA Home Loan In 2020

By Bruce Reichstein

What do you need to know about credit requirements for an FHA mortgage? There are plenty of those who have no choice but to seek housing even in the worst of times; what should you know about credit requirements for a mortgage in the age of coronavirus? Borrowers Should Work On Their FICO Scores Earlier You can raise your credit scores by paying all bills on time, every time. You can also raise your credit scores by lowering your credit card balances below the 50% mark (30% is ideal), and by not applying for new credit on top of the credit you are already paying down. Start working on your credit as far ahead of time as you can; knowing the contents of your credit report is a GREAT start. | more...

FHA One Time Close Construction Loan Option

April 30, 2020

The FHA One-Time Close Mortgage Option

By Bruce Reichstein

Borrowers looking at their FHA home loan options don’t have to feel limited to purchasing an existing construction property; there is a way to apply for an FHA mortgage that lets you have a home built to suit from the ground up. These FHA new construction home loans are referred to as Construction-To-Permanent mortgages or, more recently, FHA One-Time Close construction loans. One-Time Close construction loans are good for borrowers who want a home that is just right, and are not in a hurry to get into their new home. The trade-off for having just the right property built for you is the time it will take from planning to move-in. The process will take more time, but it is definitely worth it to those who choose this type of | more...

April 29, 2020

Protect Your Credit With Free Weekly Credit Reports Until 2021

By Joe Wallace

COVID-19 has created an economic situation that has forced millions into unemployment, and literally millions of home loans are now in forbearance. Those who act to protect their home loans early have the most options, but even for those late to the process, catching up on home loan payments, cutting back on new credit use, and other measures can help soften the economic blow in the long run. Coronavirus outbreak containment measures, while absolutely necessary, have put a massive strain on the economy. Now, more than ever, knowing your credit report is essential, especially if you have plans to buy a home in the near to mid-term future. Credit will likely be harder to come by in the coming months. borrowers who understand the importance of this will be pulling | more...

April 7, 2020

Protect Your Credit Score During The Coronavirus Outbreak

By Bruce Reichstein

The economic effects of the coronavirus / COVID-19 are being felt in every sector of the American economy, including the real estate market and the housing industry. With trillions of dollars in economic stimulus promised, but in various stages of delivery (or non-delivery as the case may be), Americans are still facing economic pain that may not have a short-term fix. In spite of that uncertainty, one thing remains clear. Consumer credit scores are going to have a lot more weight in the credit approval decision process in the days following the peak of the coronavirus emergency in America. It’s going to take time to begin a full move toward recovering from the crisis, but those who take steps now (and later) to protect their credit will fare better than | more...