Showing posts with label Credit Report. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Credit Report. Show all posts

8/28/2020

What About Mortgage Forbearance? What Happens?


 
Here's a nice article from Bankrate, dated last April, about what forbearance means.  First of all, somewhere, depending on the source, between 4,000,000 and 6,000,000 people (mortgages) are in forbearance now.  Forbearance offers the opportunity to avoid foreclosure, a worse evil that the banks do not want to repeat from the last recession. But the consumer should be as informed as possible. The CARES Act covered some plans for forbearance, but just know that even though this Bankrate article says "No, mortgage forbearance does not appear on your credit report as a negative activity," some people are experiencing credit problems.  They have found entries on their credit reports about having a forbearance, and as a result, some credit card companies are shrinking the amount of available credit for these customers.  Others are having a hard time getting loans due to their credit reports.  Nerdwallet advises consumers that unless the lender has agreed not to report forbearance (which can be a possibility) it will be reported to your credit bureaus.  So if you are, or have, participating in a forbearance, you might want to make an inquiry first to find out what your lender's policy is.  Having your credit cards impacted, and the ability to buy using them, is a difficult thing to undergo.  Your FICO score is built on several factors, including your debt percentage to your overall available line of credit.  If that available credit is pushed down, your debt ratio now goes up, and your FICO score could take a big hit as a result. 

 

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | www.juliahuntsman.com | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996

3/24/2017

New Credit Reporting Policy Change May Affect Many Consumers Positively

Equifax, TransUnion and Experience will, as of July 1, 2017, require tax lien and civil judgment data to contain three of four information requirements in order for that information to be included in an individual's credit report.  The consumer's name, address, and either a social security number or a date of birth must be included, and current data not reflecting that information will soon be removed from credit reports.  According to Mortgage News Daily, many liens and most judgments don't currently include that information, and their removal, although sparking a controversy, will probably be viewed as happy news by many consumers.  Already, other types of negative data have been addressed in settlements of lawsuits:
It appears that the changes announced by the credit reporting companies are at least partially in response to a recent report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). 
* * * *
The Wall Street Journal reports that settlements of lawsuits brought by various states have already pushed the credit reporting companies to remove some categories of negative data from reports such as information related to library fines and gym memberships, and required changes to the timing of medical collections information.

The net effect is that many consumers will have an increase in their FICO score, perhaps an upward boost of about 20 points.




5/09/2016

Starting in 2016, Delinquent HOA Fees May Be A Part of Your Credit Score

Consumers' financial obligations for mortgages, auto payments and credit card payments have long been part of their credit profile. However, HOA dues payments have not. Although non-payment of HOA dues, in California, can eventually even trigger foreclosure by the Board of Directors, these payments have not been in included in credit reporting agencies. Now, Sperlonga, a credit data aggregator, is the first company to provide HOA payment and account status data to Equifax, which is one of the three major credit-reporting agencies. "A full rollout of the new HOA reporting to Equifax will go live in October 2016. And property owners who do pay on time will see a similar reflection on their credit scores.

According to the Community Association Institute, homeowner associations and property management companies collect approximately $70 billion in HOA payments each year through at least 333,000 community associations." Owners with a history of delinquent payments and/or non-payment can cause a great deal of financial problems for an association, especially smaller associations fewer than 10 units where there is a smaller risk pool. An HOA's operating budget and reserve funds may not be able to keep up with needed maintenance and infrastructure replacements without timely payments by all members, and those associations with more available funds will be stuck with fees and costs of pursuing delinquent owners, an eventual cost to all owners.

If you're contemplating buying a condominium or other property within a homeowner association, you are also agreeing to pay for your share of the common area upkeep, including insurance and maintenance costs. This is one of the reasons why your lender must order certain documents from the association during escrow to make sure you are well qualified to cover the fees and costs, as well as including that information in your upfront loan qualifying process. For people who may have reasons for temporarily falling behind in payments, a board may well be negotiable in setting up a payment plan--it would pay to approach the Board or your property manager for a discussion before becoming a delinquent owner.

6/04/2015

Who May Run and Check Your Credit in California?

Homebuyers seeking a purchase or refinance mortgage, or people wanting to buy appliances on payment plans or using their credit cards, are among those who will have their credit reports checked.  The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act requirements state who can look at or order your credit report.

Such people may include landlords, credit card issuers, car loan lenders, student loan lenders and insurance companies and government agencies.   However, at least ten states (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington) have passed laws prohibiting employers from pulling credit reports at all or restricting how and when employers may use them to make hiring or other job decisions.  According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, access is restricted to businesses or government agencies that meet the permissible purpose requirements.

Concerning landlords:  If a landlord has a property managed or listed by a Realtor with a written contract in place giving the broker permission, the broker may be allowed to run the credit of a prospective tenant.  Or, the Realtor can also assist the property owner by helping the landlord find a source for running credit (about $25), with action performed and the report reviewed by the landlord.   The Realtor may be doing all other agreed functions for renting, but the credit report responsibility lies with the landlord if not otherwise expressly allowed for in the contract.  It would be a good idea for landlords and tenants alike to find out what should be of concern to a landlord.  Landlords can check rental history, accounts, debts, foreclosures and general credit worthiness.  For individuals who experienced getting a notice of default and foreclosure, even though they had other good credit, they found it was not easy moving to a good rental property, and some found that getting a co-signer was necessary.

To find out what can be included in your credit report and other resource material, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse and Nolo contain additional information.  For California information on accessing a free annual credit report, see the California Office of the Attorney General.



2/20/2015

Four Critical Credit Tips



Dear Buyer,

Your credit score is an important benchmark for mortgage lenders, landlords and even potential employers. Use these tips to avoid hurting your credit score:

1. Don’t max out your credit cards.
A big factor in your credit score is your debt-to-credit ratio. When you hit your spending limit, your debt-to-credit ratio rises and your credit score falls. As a rule, always have more credit available than outstanding debt. Doing so not only boosts your credit score, it keeps your payments low and leaves a buffer for emergencies.

2. Consider the pros and cons of cancelling credit cards.
While removing temptation is one way to check excessive spending, cancelling credit can actually damage your credit score. Why? Cancelling credit increases your debt-to-credit ratio just like maxing out a card, dropping your credit score. If you need to cancel a credit card, obtaining the same or higher amount of credit with a new card diminishes the effect. (But it's best not to cancel, just stop using the card.)

3. Stop applying for store credit cards in the checkout line.
It might be tempting to save 15% on a one-time purchase, but applying for unnecessary credit. It can seriously damage your credit score. Lenders make a hard inquiry whenever you apply for a new card. This type of inquiry often lowers your credit score by several points, which accumulates when applying for multiple cards. A soft inquiry occurs when you check your own credit, which is highly encouraged routinely and before a major purchase.

4. Apply with multiple lenders when shopping for a mortgage.
While I have preferred lenders I would much rather work with because ultimately, professionalism and knowledge are what gets the job done, not all lenders do all loans or work with all lender sources. Buyers should know this. When you apply for a mortgage, the lender performs a hard inquiry. This will lower your credit score by a very small amount, around 5 points. However, when multiple mortgage lenders run your credit within a 45-day period, it only generates a single credit penalty. Thus, applying at one, two or even a dozen mortgage lenders only produces one minimal deduction to your credit score. Unless you have a serious credit problem, applying with more than three is probably unnecessary, but to satisfy yourself that you are getting the best mortgage rate and terms, just like shopping around for a new car, it would be wise to take a little time in the application process and ask questions.

If you want to learn more or discuss your home buying or selling options, contact me.

2/28/2014

Some Lenders Are Checking Borrowers' Social Media Accounts


Along with new lending rules for buyers and lenders that came into effect on January 1, there's more to think about, too.  According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, a buyer's Facebook and Twitter data may help a lending company determine a borrower's creditworthiness.  Ironically, these same lending companies may be backed with venture funding from Google Ventures or Accell Partners (early Facebook investor). 

Social media accounts are a way to double check a borrower's job information (see your LinkedIn account), or there's a post about how you got fired on Facebook.  And E-Bay could be a great place to check your small business reviews by others. Right now this practice of social media review is primarily used by smaller loan sources, but Fair Isaac Corp. (your FICO credit score company) is considering incorporating social media, and since it provides credit scoring for the vast majority of lender decisions, that could have a huge impact.

Lendup, a San Francisco lending source, is one company currently using a mix of credit bureau and social media information to help assess borrowers' risk and verify identities. Applicants are voluntarily sharing their Facebook, Twitter and other social sites which Lendup is using, although they don't require it.  It just helps on the road towards loan approval.  This is a company backed by Google Ventures and which expects to make 300,000 loans in 2014.

At Moven, a mobile-only bank, customers can link up their social media accounts to learn about their own financial behavior and make payments to friends. The President of Moven says social-media activity will be one factor used in lending decision on their future loans. He believes social media data says more about customers than their FICO score.

Kabbage Inc, a loan source for small businesses, requires a customer to link at least one account such as Amazon, e-Bay, or Xero for underwriting decisions.  Kabbage, Inc., is looking at how many "likes" a customer receives, and what reviews are saying about the borrower's business.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission are taking a close look at privacy issues. If, for example, a consumer reporting company such as Experience or Equifax has inaccurate information on a borrower, the consumer may dispute that information under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. But  companies using social media in their lending decisions don't have to verify the information about you because it isn't reported to third parties, so there apparently is little or no regulation when it comes to this type of  "background check" on a borrower.
" 'There are privacy concerns. People don't understand the implications or why they may be considered undesirable' " for credit, said Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy in Washington, who is calling for regulation."
See the full article at http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304773104579266423512930050?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304773104579266423512930050.html

6/07/2013

Checking Your Credit Report is Important for Buying Long Beach Real Estate

According to DS News, 22% of Americans have never checked their credit report, according to Findlaw.com survey conducted in March, with about 1,000 participants.

Unfortunately, there is always potential for errors and negative information to be entered onto your credit report. And even though credit reports and scores as they currently exist came into usage in very recent history, after the economic downturn in the 1990s, they now have a major influence in our lives.

Obtaining a mortgage is one of the best known times when credit scores are reviewed, but also employers check credit scores to evaluate job candidates, insurance companies evaluate prospective insureds, and auto loan makers also pull credit.  I was once in the position of paying all cash for an automobile with a guaranteed check, yet the auto dealer still consulted my credit score online before finalizing the deal to make sure my overall profile fit who I said I was--they didn't want another "buyer" driving a new car off the lot on a phony check, never to be found again.

Protecting your credit, and your credit cards, may take additional work.  You may be at risk if you pay restaurant bills--where you have to give up your card momentarily while it's taken away out of your sight by the waiter for processing--and it's out of your hands.  It's an opportunity for a dishonest person to write down your card account number and use it later.  I rarely ever have had such problems to worry about, but this happened to me recently when I discovered my account number had been used by someone else to establish an account for, guess what, checking their credit at an Equifax site and I was billed a small amount monthly.  It went on for some time before I caught it (another reason to balance your account every month) and fortunately I got my money reimbursed.  But of course I had to cancel that card, write checks for a few days, and wait for a new card to be issued.  It was a time in which I was reminded that this is increasingly a plastic card world.  Writing checks is less common, and in fact there are some circumstances where checks or cash are not accepted and merchants want payment only by your credit card.  So keeping your credit in good shape is so important.

My bank offers a service where I now have credit card alerts sent to my email so that I can spot a problem right away--if you have Smartphone or mobile tablet, you don't have to wait until you get to a desktop computer to check your email or messages. It's working great. 

Here is the entire article at DS News.

3/02/2012

Which is Better, A Longer or Shorter Turnaround Time For the Distressed Owner? Or, Buying. After a Short. Sale

Do you picture yourself here someday? or someplace like this?
I can't guarantee anything, but the likelihood that your life will turn better faster might be greater if you consider how quickly you (or someone you know) can shorten the time it takes to obtain a loan in the future.

Many people have friends and family members struggling with their situation, and all too often, they think foreclosure and/or bankruptcy are their best avenues--when they haven't really gotten all the information they could yet.  If you know someone like this, please share these guidelines with them because they can make a big difference for them in the future for the next several years:

  • FHA loan -- After a foreclosure, pre-foreclosure, short sale, or a deed-in-lieu, a homebuyer may obtain an FHA loan 3 years after the date of the event. The FICO score requirement today is about 620-640. (There may be exceptions to this time period, if you can prove the default was beyond your control.)
  • VA loan--After a bankruptcy, foreclosure, deed-in-lieu or short sale, a homebuyer may be able to obtain a VA loan 2 years later, with re-established credit.
  • FHA loan & Bankruptcy--After a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a buyer may be able to obtain an FHA loan 2 years later, with re-established credit. Chapter 13 requires 1 year of payout and court approval for a mortgage.
  • Conventional loan -- After a pre-foreclosure sale/short sale or deed in lieu, a conventional loan requires 2 years from the completion date to get a 20% down loan, 4 years from completion to get a 10% down loan, and 7 years to obtain maximum financing loans. 
  • Conventional loan and foreclosure--It takes 7 years to obtain a conventional loan, and re-established credit.
  • Conventional loan & Bankruptcy--Chapter 7 requires 4 years, and re-established credit; Chapter 13 requires 2 years with a discharged BK, and 4 years with a dismissed BK. There can be no 30-day lates in previous 12 months.
Finally, a foreclosure stays on the credit report for 10 years, for all employers, insurance companies and others investigating your credit worthiness to see, regardless of how you've moved on.  A short sale's impact on your credit rating may be considerably less severe over a shorter period of time due to type of entry made, short sale negotation with the bank and depending on the policy of the servicer/investor.

Not all short sale situations succeed, unfortunately, and there are many reasons for this. However, banks would still prefer to do a short sale than a foreclosure: they don't want REO inventory, and they almost always recoup more money doing a short sale.

The banks come out ahead, and so do you, if you can do a short sale.  Doesn't it make sense to choose the option that would allow you to become a homeowner faster in the future, as well as the option that would have less impact on your long-term credit? And then someday you could be back here again--sooner.

1/21/2011

Consumer Credit: Tips for the Way to Better Credit

In spite of general information available online, many consumers are still "in the dark" about how credit scoring functions and the best actions to take to improve it.
In spite of advice on repairing credit, a tip from an professional who has been in the business for many many years, often the best way to improve your credit is to simply pay your bills on time and reduce your credit line debt as much as possible--your payment history accounts for 35% of your FICO score.
Many consumers have recently experienced reduction of their credit lines, which then increases the percentage of debt, which then lowers their credit score. If a line of credit allows up to $50,000 and the outstanding debt is $45,000, but then the line of credit is suddenly reduced to $30,000, the borrower now appears to have exceeded the credit line. So now, the FICO score may be lowered, even though the borrower is always on time with payments.
Another factor that can impact credit scores is that not all banks report their credit limits for a borrower, but instead reports the highest balance--this actually can end up lowering the borrower's credit score because the debt utilization percentage does not show up. (See Liz Pulliam's "Weird Stuff that Hurts Your Credit.")
Borrowers, in an effort to simplify their credit history, make the mistake of voluntarily closing a credit account. This actually can be a very bad thing, especially if it was established much earlier in the consumer's credit history.  Your credit history accounts for 15% of your score, so you could anticipate seeing that much of a reduction on your score: A score of 750 could be reduced to less than 650. And, for instance, if you had a bankruptcy, you may be categorized with others who have also, but if you have that bankruptcy removed from your record, you will now be compared differently, which can impact your score negatively.
Something else not generally known, is that simply by paying bills on time and reducing debt, your FICO score can also improve in a short period, sometimes in as little as 30 days (or a few months), depending on the various factors of your credit history. The FICO score is a mathematically produced number based on certain elements that are used by the Fair Isaac Corporation, and is very complex, but you can know its basic components:
  • Type of Credit:               10%
  • New Credit Inquiries:      10%
  • Payment History:             35%
  • Length of Credit History: 15%
  • Amounts Owed:              30%
Further, many borrowers think that the credit scores they obtain online from a free credit reporting site is an accurate representation of their score, but in fact, they cannot substitute for the ones lenders must obtain when working with a potential homebuyer or refinance borrower.
Further, many borrowers believe that it is best for them to pay down all debt prior to obtaining a home loan, when that is not always the case.
Another important thing to know is that Fair Isaac Corporation, the maker of the FICO score, changes its model, and may be doing so again at this moment--this can change how much you are going to pay for your home loan. If you are looking into borrowing or refinancing at this time, current information would be extremely important for you.
One company works on "credit mapping" as opposed to credit repair. The borrower is advised to investigate what either type of company could do for them, but in general credit repair companies may cost $800 or more and in certain cases has not helped the borrower through it's actions. Another company uses credit mapping outlines for a particular borrower--at a much lower fee cost--based on their credit report and other circumstances, and what may best work for them, as opposed to the generic information found on sites such as http://www.myfico.com/ .  For more explicit information about credit mapping and general advice, see this article in the Orange County Register published last September.
In summary, you really need to know about your particular situation to best know what to to, before you make a move.
More tips about credit:  Improving Your Credit Score, Recognizing a Credit Repair Scam




Bookmark and Share

1/04/2010

Foreclosure Timeline in California

If your loan was obtained between 2003 and 2007, and you meet certain other guidelines, your timeline (for a non-judicial foreclosure, the most common in California) from the first day of the pre-foreclosure period up through the Notice of Sale, will be about 152 days.

The Notice of Default may be filed 30 days after the lender contacts the borrower to explore options avoiding foreclosure for the borrower.

Three months after the NOD is filed, the Notice of Trustee's Sale may be recorded and then published over a period of 3 weeks. The borrower has 5 days prior to the sale to cure the default, which means catching up on the entire debt, and all other interests and costs. On Day 152 of this timeline, the lender may sell the property to the highest bidder at public auction.

If the seller is contemplating selling, there is a minimum of 4 months at the time the NOD has been filed. Since many sellers are in a short sale position and would need to list their property, find an eligible buyer, submit their entire financial package to the lender and obtain the lender's approval, 4 months is not enough time since the standard bank approval time is still around 90 days.

If the homeowner is experiencing financial distress and is now starting to not pay the mortgage, they need to immediately recognize their situation and allow for 6 to 8 months in which to get their property listed and sold, if that is to be the course of action. Most people do not want to sell, and make the mistake of hanging on too long until they lose the house through foreclosure. This is usually the worst course of events from which it takes longer to recover in terms of credit eligibility and future mortgage eligibility. Credit is checked for rental applications, insurance, and employment, so the distressed homeowner may be affected in many other ways.

If an owner is in bankruptcy, or has surrendered the property, the initial 30-day notice requirement does not apply.

For other owners not in the 2003-2007 loan origination period, the original foreclosure timeline applies, which is about 121 days total.

11/20/2009

How Does Bankruptcy, Foreclosure or a Short Sale Affect the Borrower?



The FICO® score was established by the Fair Isaac Corporation and is one of several systems which evaluate a borrower's credit worthiness by assigning a numeric value. A score of over 720-740 points is considered the desired range of eligibility for a conventional loan by many lenders. Before the current economic downturn, a score of 680 was acceptable and eligible for many conventional loan programs, but that score now does not meet many, if not most, current guidelines. The borrower should take into consideration that FICO® or other credit scores are now checked when applying for home insurance, rentals, a car loan, and employment, to name a few, an individual's credit worthiness is an important fact of life. When a borrower is considering the best course of action, they often do not realize exactly for how long and in what ways a distressed property situation will affect them.



The pie-chart shows the parts of a FICO® score found at www.myfico.com and the aspects of a credit score. While there are general estimates as to the "hits" to your score for bankruptcy, foreclosure, short sales, and late payments associated with these events, opinions differ and are not exact, in spite of what information you may find on various internet sites. Other factors in the borrower's credit history may also impact the total score.

However, certain Fannie Mae borrowing guidelines are known:
  • A 10% down payment purchase of a principal residence is allowed 5-7 years after a foreclosure sale completion date (3 years for "extenuating circumstances").
  • A 10% down payment purchase is allowed for a principal residence and other types of properties 4-7 years after a deed-in-lieu was executed.
  • 2 years after a "pre-foreclosure" sale (may or may not be same as short sale conditions).
  • 4 years after a bankruptcy discharged or dismissed.
  • 2 years after a Chapter 13 bankruptcy is discharged or dismissed.
FHA may have slightly more lenient guidelines for post-event home purchases, and the borrower should check with a lender. The idea here is not to give a complete listing of guidelines--a discussion with an experienced lender would be good for that--but to let the borrower know what the timeline will be depending on his/her actions and plan accordingly. The potential tax consequences depending on circumstances of the property should be reviewed before filing for bankruptcy, for example.

The choices in some cases are not avoidable, but in all cases, a borrower should obtain more information to be prepared.

5/30/2008

Legal Settlement in Transunion Credit Score Lawsuit

Huge settlement in a legal case originally filed 10 years ago and affecting Transunion's credit reports and 160 million Americans:

"The case being settled stems from a business operated by TransUnion that sliced and diced data from the Chicago-based company's massive credit files to generate customized lists of consumers. Retailers, lenders and other businesses would buy the lists to use in their marketing."


"Under the settlement, anyone who had any type of loan account between January 1987 and Wednesday would be able to select one of two options:

"* A basic service would provide free credit monitoring for six months. It normally retails for $59.75, according to the settlement. Those who select this service can also apply for a cash payment.

"* An enhanced service would provide nine months of free monitoring, plus use of a "mortgage simulator" that lets consumers see whether improving their credit score would affect their mortgage rates and how much they could save if it did."
See the Los Angeles Times article for an update and for link to the settlement website.

'Voice this!

4/12/2007

Local Credit is Very Global


What constitutes news and relevant information about real estate? About you as a real estate consumer? Well, a lot of things, not just pictures of residential property. Someone was recently upset because of an article about vehicle license renewal and what may happen if you’re stopped and maybe you just haven’t paid your overdue fees yet because you thought you had until the end of the due month on your license tag, and the fact that police have immediate access via computer to see if you’ve paid your annual fees on the due date. If it went unpaid (not that we must assume the worst, but here it is), notice of that goes to the Franchise Tax Board where it would ultimately appear as a tax lien connected to you. Then think about your credit report and what gets reported on it.

Think about your credit score being a reflection of financial events connected to you. Did you know that when you apply for insurance, or a bank account, your credit report is viewed? Then think about the fact that mortgage loan underwriters also take a look at that credit report, including recent events of all kinds just before they decide to give you a loan. The workings of our bureaucratic world are very important to know about when it comes to getting a loan. That way, when you get the loan, you can get the house. You may obtain your free annual credit report at http://www.annualcreditreport.com/.

Web Statistics