 | Randy Vickers is the owner of Priority Mortgage Corp of Wichita, which opened in Jan. 1989, is the oldest locally owned mortgage company in Wichita. Randy has been in the real state business since 1983 and is a licensed real estate broker as well as a licensed mortgage broker. Priority Mortgage Corp of Wichita KS Lic #1996-0122. Randy can be reached at 316-721-7700 |
Real Estate
2005-09-01 14:36:00
More on credit report ‘hiccups’…
ANSWER: If you are worried about your credit history, you can take charge of your situation by getting the facts and taking the actions necessary to improve your chances for a mortgage approval. Many consumers have faced difficulties that resulted in credit problems. The good news is that a consumer is no longer banned for life from obtaining a mortgage or other new credit. The primary purpose of a credit report is to establish that a borrower has a sufficient and satisfactory credit history for the loan requested. This is done by a credit scoring system, with each of the three major bureaus providing a score.The secondary purpose is to develop a complete summary of current debts that a consumer must pay each month. Credit reports also list any bankruptcies, foreclosures and legal judgments against a consumer.When applying for a mortgage loan, there are specific guidelines established by mortgage institutions such as Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA) for obtaining a conventional mortgage loan. These guidelines specify, "The borrower's credit history should demonstrate his or her past willingness and ability to meet credit obligations that will show the borrower's commitment to making payments on the new mortgage that is now being considered."Underwriters are more concerned about a borrower's overall pattern of making payments than they are about a few individual occurrences. "A borrower who has made payments on outstanding or previous credit obligations according to the contractual terms will have a credit history that consists of no late payments and no adverse or derogatory information (such as bankruptcies, judgments or collections). To make sure that a borrower who has an otherwise good payment history is not penalized for an occasional late payment, we do not require perfect or spotless credit records."While usually accurate, credit reports often contain errors and mistakes. In the past, credit histories were a closely guarded secret and consumers could only guess if they were denied credit by accident or due to incorrect information. Today, consumers can obtain exact copies of their credit histories from the major credit reporting bureaus. In most cases these can be accessed quickly with the use of the internet, and many times are free.Whenever consumers are denied credit, they can obtain a copy of their credit report to challenge and correct any errors or mistakes. For instance, if a borrower has a common surname or family members are Jr., Sr., III etc., he or she will be able to separate his or her accounts from family members or people perhaps not even related to the consumer.A borrower should contact all three of the major credit bureaus directly to correct any errors appearing on reports from each of those credit bureaus. Each credit organization will send you a free copy if you have been denied credit. More next month…
