Even though we’re still a few months away from the busiest homebuying season of the year, if you’re thinking about buying a home in 2011, it’s time to start preparing a list of do’s and don’ts.
Do: Check Your Credit
“Landing a mortgage in 2011 is going to be a bruiser,” writes HSH.com contributing writer Kerry Hannon. “The recession may be over, but mortgage lenders, still feeling the sting of foreclosures, strategic defaults (walk aways) and underwater homeowners are not letting down their guard.”
Revamped scoring models from both FICO and VantageScore are designed to focus more on a borrower’s recent credit history as opposed to their long-term history: Read the rest of this entry »
Now more than ever, credit scores are especially important to mortgage borrowers. If you’re a mortgage borrower with a poor credit score, your financing options are vastly limited. Besides the FHA, which still has financing available for borrowers with below-prime scores, the private market has shown little interest for borrowers without pristine credit.
The good news is that there are ways you can improve your credit before you apply for a home loan.
The sheer responsibility that comes with owning a home — making all your payments on time, maintaining the upkeep of the property, etc. — can be a frightening task for those who aren’t prepared. However, before the monthly payments and the lawnmowers, comes the mortgage qualification process.
If you’re in the market to buy a home, achieving the American dream isn’t going to be easy thanks to all the stringent borrowing requirements placed on homebuyers these days.
Think your paycheck is for your eyes only? Think again. Americans are surrendering over more and more of their personal information with each passing day — and your paycheck is the latest bit of personal data that’s now out in the open.
The final rules issued by the Federal Reserve under the CARD Act will now require credit-card companies to examine your income when you apply for credit as a means of determining your ability to make payments. The examination of your income, among other factors, can be used to determine whether or not your application is approved, the size of your credit limit, and/or whether you may be pre-approved for certain offers: Read the rest of this entry »
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is now taking consumer comments regarding how they can improve upon the website ‘AnnualCreditReport.com‘. The recently enacted credit card reform has put new rules into place regarding the marketing of credit reports.
According to Michelle Singletary of the Washington Post, consumers have logged significant complaints against the website which offers free credit reports from the three major credit bureaus — Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian: Read the rest of this entry »
Credit conditions are tight these days — getting a loan isn’t as easy, and may never be as easy, as it used to. That means your credit score and report may dictate whether or not you get a mortgage, car, credit card, student loan and more. With so much riding on good credit, it’s time to separate the facts from the fiction when it comes to your credit.
You may think that you have just one credit score, but in fact, you have several. Your FICO score — the credit rating system developed by Fair Isaac Corp. which can range from a dismal 300 to the pinnacle of 850 — is just one. The others are calculated by the three credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Your exact credit score all depends on the type of lender requesting it and which credit bureau reports it.
Millions of American each year are faced with the reality that a stranger has stolen their personal information. To help protect consumers from identity theft, the three major credit bureaus have each introduced their own credit monitoring services. But are they worth their cost? Financial experts Ken and Daria Dolan weigh the pros and cons of these services.
Irony
The latest thorn in the side of President Obama’s loan modification program is that some participating borrowers could see their credit scores plummet:
Banks, including Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp., report the loan modifications to credit bureaus. The adjustments can lower credit scores because of the way the FICO formula, the most widely used by U.S. lenders, works.
The US Federal Government has charged 11 men with the theft and sale of over 41 million credit and debit card numbers stolen from major US retailers. The thieves installed “sniffing” programs, where payment-card data from the retailers’ computer system was transported and stored on two servers located in Latvia and the Ukraine.
The retailers affected include TJX (Marshalls and TJ Maxx), BJ’s Wholesale Club, OfficeMax, Boston Market, Barnes & Noble, Sports Authority, Forever 21, and DSW.
HSH.com's daily blog focuses on the latest developments in the mortgage and housing markets. Our mission is to relate how changes in mortgage rates and housing policy, as well as the latest financial news, impacts consumers, homebuyers and industry insiders alike. Our 30-plus years of experience in the mortgage industry gives us an edge as we break down the latest changes in an ever-changing market.
