Experian, one of the big 3 credit bureaus, has been actively promoting that consumers can “boost” their credit score using their services. Since I help people with their credit and mortgage needs for my profession, this naturally got my attention.
NEW! WSHFC now allowing Non-Traditional Credit
December 14, 2017 by Leave a Comment
The Washington State Housing Finance Commission (WSHFC) is now allowing borrowers without established credit (aka “non-traditional”) to qualify for a mortgage.
Here are some of the requirements: [Read more…]
Avoid being naughty to your mortgage preapproval
December 12, 2017 by Leave a Comment
‘Tis the season to spend, spend, spend give. I love this time of year and I admit that it can be hard for me to not splurge a bit. Overspending doesn’t have to be in the form of extra presents under the tree, it could be getting together with family and friends at a restaurant – or even cooking up something extra special at home. There are endless ways to spend your hard earned cash this time of year whether it’s your savings or using a credit card.
If you’re thinking about buying a home, refinancing or are in the mortgage process, it can be quite easy to forget about your credit or savings during the holidays. [Read more…]
Can you get a Mortgage with Frozen Credit?
September 11, 2017 by Leave a Comment
In light of Equifax’s recent massive credit breach, many people are going through the process of “freezing” their credit with each of the credit bureaus. This prevents someone from obtaining a new credit account in your name (it does not prevent them from using existing credit). I actually decided to freeze my credit a while back when it appeared that someone was trying to commit fraud with our address. It’s not that difficult to do and it’s pretty easy to forget about…until you decide to apply for new credit, such as getting a mortgage. [Read more…]
Were you potentially hacked from the massive Equifax breach?
September 8, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Equifax announced yesterday that they’ve were hacked on a scale unlike any we’ve seen potentially impacting half of our population.
From Equifax: “…a cybersecurity incident potentially impacting approximately 143 million U.S. consumers. Criminals exploited a U.S. website application vulnerability to gain access to certain files. Based on the company’s investigation, the unauthorized access occurred from mid-May through July 2017.” [Read more…]
Fannie Mae updates underwriting guidelines at the end of this month
July 12, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Effective July 29, 2017, Fannie Mae will release DU Version 10.1, packed full to changes to their underwriting guidelines. These changes apply to Fannie Mae conforming mortgages (Freddie Mac has different guidelines). Here are some of updates effective at the end of this month:
50% Debt-to-Income Ratios. [Read more…]
Improvements to Credit Scoring
May 12, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Earlier this year, the three major credit bureaus (aka “credit reporting agencies” or “CRAs”), Experian, Equifax and Transunion, came to a settlement with the New York Attorney General impacting credit reporting. It is anticipated that the settlement will help some consumers improve their scores by 10-40 points. [Read more…]
Not so good karma for your credit?
April 27, 2016 by Leave a Comment
I just received an email from a popular credit reporting service suggesting that I open new accounts.
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