How To Avoid Being A Bad Credit Mortgage Loan Borrower
Recent announcements by Freddie Mac ( the government backed home loan authority) shows higher fees for bad credit mortgage loan borrowers. Unfortunately with foreclosure possibilities looming over many homeowners the government has decided to make it even harder for bad credit borrowers to receive home loan financing. Lower credit scores have always meant higher fees to homeowners trying to refinance or even purchase a new home mortgage. In the past this was an unwritten rule however now with the new published higher fee figures their intentions are obvious. The lower your credit score the higher the mortgage loan fees you’ll pay, meaning it’s time to get control of your credit profile.
As the Ex Mortgage Executive, I’m always surprised at the lack of knowledge most home refinance prospects have in terms of maintaining control of their own credit report profile. Many homeowners believe they are either stuck with the credit they have or have no idea of what their true mortgage credit score is. I mention mortgage credit score specifically due to the fact that mortgage credit scores are lower than consumer credit scores. Consumer credit scores are scores used to determine creditworthiness for loans such as cars and unsecured credit, not mortgage loans.
Unfortunately most would be home mortgage borrowers never check their credit score until after they begin the mortgage loan shopping process. As you may or may not know the credit bureaus owe you one free copy of your credit report every twelve months. Notice that I said free. It still amazes me that homeowners still approach the mortgage loan shopping process with no clue as to what is contained in their credit report. Why would anyone pay higher mortgage loan fees if they really don’t have to? The answer is - as I stated above, consumers are either in the mindset that they are stuck with what they have or have no ability to change negative credit if they wanted to. That answer could be no farther from the truth.
If you’re planning a mortgage refinancing or new home purchase it’s absolutely imperative that you understand the difference between your mortgage credit score and your consumer credit score. Mortgage credit scores are always lower than consumer credit scores simply because a mortgage loan is a much higher value than say an automobile or credit card. Gaining control of your credit profile should start with getting a free copy of your credit report. Each credit bureau will provide a free copy once every twelve months. The purpose of checking your credit profile at all three bureaus is to find out if there are any negative items been reported. If you do find negative items on your credit report I’ll detail the process below of exactly how to handle such an occurrence.
Under the new Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae guidelines you’ll be paying higher than normal fees for any mortgage credit score below 680. If you currently have negative items on your credit report which are holding your score lower than 680, there is a solution to your problem. The solution is credit repair however before you run off screaming in fear with all of the credit repair myths, let me say this. Legal credit repair is real and available however if you don’t know the process or where to begin you could make some huge mistakes along the way. On the other hand if you get your hands on my step-by-step process it’s amazingly simple and can change your life forever.
The fundamentals of credit repair contain three distinct steps. Those steps include getting access to all three credit bureau reports, monitoring changes on your credit reports, and working with an online credit repair service. The speed at which negative items are removed from your credit profile is directly related to your ability to notify the credit repair agency of changes on your credit report. A smart homeowner should continually monitor their credit report profile for changes and avoid the last minute rush to dispute negative items which could take 30, 60 or even 90 days to complete. Several online credit report monitoring services are available for a small monthly fee and a potentially save thousands in higher fees and low credit scores.
Terry Lamb provides more credit repair details and a step by step guide at The Stupid Home Owner Blog.
- Terry Lamb
