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Over the weekend I finally caught the movie, No Country for Old Men. It’s critically acclaimed and several friends recommended that I go see it. At times the movie was boring and slow. At times it was quick witted and interesting. However, most of the time nothing about the movie made sense.

In the current mortgage landscape nothing makes sense.

I still get several refinance requests from the internet where people are shopping and getting quoted rates that haven’t existed in years. Moreover, to get a loan closed today is much more difficult than ever before. So for anyone to do a loan at the lowest possible rates doesn’t make any business sense.

Some requests are for home purchases by real estate investors. Every day lenders are limiting their risk by limiting what a mortgage broker can and cannot submit. Every day programs are disappearing. There are very few high risk loans available. It’s only a matter of time before buying a home with no money down will become extinct.

Most of the inquiries I get are questions. Simple questions such as “Is now a good time to refinance?” or “Will not paying my bills hurt my credit?” The people who ask these don’t give me any information about themselves just a name and an email. That’s like asking your optometrist (eye doc) “Do I have ocular degeneration?” without having him/her/it look at your eyes.

Just like the movie, No Country for Old Men, there is no end in sight to all the madness.

I enjoy reading sports columnist Mike Lupica of the NY Daily News. His column “Shooting from the Lip” interjects his many different view points and thoughts. Bold words are used to highlight the theme.

Here’s my version:

The enemy of greatness is mediocrity. When discussing the San Antonio Spurs over the last nine years their “enemies” in the championships have mostly been mediocre. The face of the NBA are the Spurs. A team that flops and whines. Congrats David Stern, Bud Selig’s steroid ridden league looks better than yours right now.

Barry Bonds is about to break Hank Aaron’s record of 755 home runs. A few years ago I rooted for Barry to break the record simply because I thought his rookie baseball card would be worth something. Even though he’s on the cusp of an asterisk, his rookie card is worthless.

When I was in college, one of the guys in my dorm was on the juice. He denied it but we all knew it. One day he got really drunk and put his fist through a window. The cops picked him up and threw him in the slammer. When we visited him in his holding cell, he was sobbing. Jail is a scary place unless you play for the Cincinnati Bengals.

Despite graduating from college over a decade ago, I finally had my bachelors degree framed. It’s an eternal reminder that once upon a time I went to college, had fun, and ran 7 minute miles.

A few months ago I hurt my foot. The doctor took x-rays and said nothing was broken. Yet each time I’ve gone for a run, even at a slow pace, my foot has been in pain. With my main form of exercise on the shelf, I altered my diet. No fried foods. No pork. No beer. Limit my intake of sweets. What do you know, what do you say: No weight gain!

The Sopranos ending was perfect despite the deluge of criticism from disappointed fans. I often wondered if you really see your life flash before your eyes of if everything went pitch black when you died. According to the Sopranos finale, it was the latter. We followed Tony’s journey to the bitter end.

Journey saw a 500% increase in sales of their single “Don’t Stop Believing” on iTunes. I liked Journey when I was younger and pleaded with my older brother to take me to see them in concert. He didn’t take me but redeemed himself when he took me to a U2 concert. As usual someone in our section yelled “play Freebird!” Bands must really dislike that phrase.

I really dislike the phrase Short Sale and the word Foreclosure especially when the word Profit is tied to the story.

There’s nothing more discouraging than seeing a borrower with good credit, income, and reserves who happens to be upside down on their mortgage and on the verge of a rate adjustment.

Rates are taking the stairs.

“Is it ignorance or apathy? Hey, I don’t know and I don’t care.” - Jimmy Buffet

Apathy: the trait of lacking enthusiasm for or interest in things generally
Ignorance: the lack of knowledge or education

According to a Bankrate survey 34% of homeowners don’t know the type of mortgage they have.

These were the key findings of the survey:

Homeowners:

• 36% who now have an Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM), plan to refinance to a fixed-rate loan when their ARM changes
• 28% of those surveyed worry either regularly or sometimes about how they will afford their payments next year
• 57% of homeowners polled have a fixed-rate mortgage

Your home is your biggest asset/liability depending on how you view your home. Most people either have one of three kinds of mortgages because there are only three kinds:

1. fixed rate mortgage which means it’s fixed for 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 45, or 50 years
2. an adjustable rate mortgage which means it’s not fixed, it will adjust at some point
3. a negative amortization mortgage which means if you don’t know what kind of mortgage you have then this loan is not for you

If you don’t know the mortgage interest rate and the mortgage loan program you’re in, simply find your mortgage documents and find your NOTE and read it!

Could rising gas prices kill the suburbs? MSN explores the effect soaring gasoline prices will have on people moving to the suburbs. The article uses a Colorado couple choosing a nearby suburb of Denver to further illustrate their point:

Matt Loose, 28, and Dana Loose, 29, chose their first home — in the close-in Denver suburb of Centennial — with an eye to keeping their commutes as short as possible while fulfilling their dreams of owning a brand-new home. They recently closed the sale of their $250,000, three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath home in a KB Home development called Village at Centennial.

“The main driving force behind our move was the convenience of the commute, as opposed to moving to a location that is farther outside of the metro area,” said Matt. The new home is near a park-and-ride lot and a soon-to-be-built light-rail line, which will give him a 30-minute commute to his job as a civil engineer in nearby Englewood. Dana, a meeting and hospitality specialist, will be able to get to her job at a downtown Denver law firm in about 30 minutes.

While they won’t be able to walk to work, many of their contemporaries are driving 45 minutes to an hour, to new subdivisions being built on farmland. “We really liked the surrounding neighborhood,” Matt says of Centennial, “and we liked the fact that it wasn’t way, way out in the middle of nowhere.”

Capacity = Willingness and ability to pay back the loan Credit = Payment history and current balances; willingness to repay Character = Job stability and or time in property Collateral = Property or what the lending institution will be left with if the borrower fails to pay.

Another one of the C’s that is often over looked is Cash to Close. Liquid assets readily available to pay the down payment, closing costs, and prepaid items of a mortgage transaction.

Credit is one of the most important things a borrower must be aware of when buying a new home. The credit report is a representation of how you pay your bills. If you have great credit. A Bank is willing to finance up to 106% . Which would allow a person to purchase a house with no money down.

Character – from the standpoint of underwriting, lenders are usually looking for a minimum or two years work history at the same company. If you have changed companies in the past two years, but are in the same line of work, as long as your income has stayed the same or increased lenders will accept that. The longer you have been employed with the same company and in the same line of work the better off you are and the more lenient the lender may be on other factors.

Knowing what lenders are looking for and planning to provide them what they need in order to fund your loan is the best way to make sure you can get the best loan for you.

From an underwriting perspective, if a loan package is significantly strong in one of the “C” areas, deficiencies in another “C” can be given less weight. Example, if a borrower is putting down a large down payment the Collateral would be stronger so a weaker credit score might be tolerated.

Credit - Although there are a few programs that are not credit score driven, by far you will be able to secure a better rate if your credit rating is good. Payment history plays a big part in your credit score and this shows the lender your track record of payments to your creditors. It’s more probable that you will pay your loan on time if you pay your other bills on time. If you have high balances on your other debt such as credit cards and automobiles this can affect your Debt-to-income (DTI) ratio and put you at more risk in the eyes of the lender. The reason good credit scores are important is because you have the ability with good scores vs. bad scores to qualify for no income verification or no documentation loans.

Collateral-From the standpoint of loan underwriting, the higher the stake a homeowner has in the property, the less likely he would default on the mortgage. Statistics have shown that if homeowners have 20% or more in equity in their homes, lenders are less likely to suffer a loss as a result of default. For home buyers who have less than 20% to put down as down payment, many banks are willing to grant them loans as long as these home buyers have other compensating factors, such as a better than average credit profile, or a low debt to income ratio. As a safety measure, most banks require home buyers putting down less than 20% to carry Private Mortgage Insurance, which insures the banks against loss due to homeowner default.

Capacity - Capacity goes hand and hand with credit. When a lender reviews your credit there are 2 major factors they are looking at aside from credit scores. One is your DTI or Debt-to-income ratio and the other is your credit history. Both of these will determine your capacity to repay the loan or your risk to the lender.

Capacity also refers to the amount of debts you can realistically pay given your income. Creditors look at how long you’ve been on your job, your income level and the likelihood that it will increase over time. They also look to see that you’re in a stable job or at least a stable job industry. It’s important when you fill out a credit application to make your job sound stable, high-level and even” professional.” Are you a secretary or are you an executive secretary or the office manager? Finally, creditors examine your existing credit relationships, such as credit cards, bank loans and mortgages. They want to know your credit limits (you may be denied additional credit if you already have a lot of open credit lines), your current credit balances, how long you’ve had each account and your payment history—whether you pay late or on time.

In the mortgage business, the word “reserves” has more than one meaning. It can refer to the monies (assets) required by the lending bank - to be on hand in the borrowers deposit accounts at the time the loan closes.

The other form of “reserves” in a mortgage transaction are those monies required by the lender to go in escrow, if one is created.

Although proceeds from the sale of your previous home are not technically “seasoned”, they may be used for the down payment of a new purchase, as well as the necessary closing reserves.

Many banks do not consider state controlled retirement funds when using borrowers deposit records to determine how much cash reserves they have. This is because many state controlled retirement funds are inaccessible to their contributors.

Reserves are assets that a home buyer has after settlement. It is one of four underwriting criteria, as with credit, income, and loan-to-value ratio. Most banks require borrowers to have 3 to 6 months worth of housing expenses in reserve after closing. Reserves do not have to be liquid. They can be in the form non-liquid investments such as stock securities, bonds, retirement funds, etc.

A Verification of Deposits (VOD) is often used to show both source and seasoning of reserves or assets. This is a form that is filled out and signed by an official of the depositing institution that verifies such things as the current balance, daily deposit average, account numbers and other information.

When a lender is asking for seasoning or reserves on assets, this usually is referring to liquid assets such as checking and savings. The lender uses the borrower’s assets as a indicator for measuring the borrower’s ability to repay a loan. The assets also show the borrowers pattern of savings and ability to support financial obligations.

Most lenders want a borrower’s reserves to be seasoned for a minimum of 60 days. Seasoned means that they must show proof that they have had this money for at least 60 days. A lender doesn’t want to see that a borrower just had a large amount of money deposited into their account just recently, or they will require proof of where the money came from along with a letter of explanation. This safeguards the lender that the borrower has not incurred a new debt or loan that needs to be calculated into their debt to income ratio.

Many wonder why reserves are sometimes required. This gives the lender more sense of security when lending you the money for your home. If any life changing situations should occur, and you have 6-12 months of “reserves” available, you are likely to use these funds to make your payments in order to keep your house. This makes you less of a risk in the lenders eyes.

With retirement accounts you may be required to contact your human resource department to get a statement explaining how readily available these accounts would be and what the process for taking any money out would be.

Though a borrowers 401k accounts are used to show these reserves, the money in the 401k account is not actually drawn out it is simply shown to be available.

Fannie Mae continues to tighten up approval guidelines. By putting accurate reserves on your 1003, you actually will receive LESS DOCUMENTATION requirements! Most often, Fannie will only require verification of some of the funds listed, not all (for example, borrowers may have checking, savings, and retirement totaling $12,500, but D.U. findings may need NONE verified, or perhaps only $500 verified…then you do not need to send in all asset verifications, just the $500)Remember - every little bit helps! Checking Accounts count at 100% of balance (recent large deposits may need to be explained)Savings Accounts count at 100% of balance (recent large deposits may need to be explained)Stocks / Mutual Funds count at 100% of balance401k / IRA count at 70% of vested balance Cash balance for life insurance policies count at 100% of cash balance Most other retirement accounts may not count, including pensions, PERA accounts, etc.

You can usually count the cash value of a life insurance policy as well.

Other sites: Mortgage Broker | Negative Amortization | Fixed-rate mortgage | Delinquency | Increasing your homes value | MIP | Stated Income Loan | What not to do after you apply for a Mortgage | Quick Closing | Tips for lowering your homeowners insurance| Pay Option Arm Calculator

Looking for a house without getting pre-approved. Do not confuse a pre-approval with a pre-qualification. When you are pre-approved you become like a CASH BUYER and have more negotiating clout with the seller.

Have an inspection done by a professional. Don’t take the sellers word that they have made repairs. Unless you are buying a new house where you have warranties on most equipment, it is highly recommended that you get a property inspection, a roof inspection, and a termite inspection. This way, you know exactly what you are buying. Inspection reports can be great negotiating tools when it comes to asking the seller to make repairs. If a professional home inspector states that certain repairs be done, the seller is more likely to agree to do them.

Remember that just because a mortgage broker or a bank, says that you can afford the home you are looking at, does not mean that you can actually afford, or feel comfortable with, the monthly payments. Know exactly what the monthly payments are, including taxes, insurance, association fees (if applicable), and any other fees that may be associated with the home on a monthly/yearly basis. Once you know the total cost of owning that home, then decide if it is affordable, while taking into consideration all of your other monthly bills. The last thing you would want to do is rush into a house, that you are unable to afford in the long run.

Do not choose a lender just because they have the lowest rate. Not getting a written good faith estimate. While rate is important, look at the overall cost of your loan. This includes looking at the APR, the loan fees, as well as the discount and origination points.

Get your rate lock in writing. Get a written statement which details the interest rate, the length of the rate lock, and detail about the program. This will save you a lot of trouble if rates increase.

Many Realtors will not show you homes before being pre-approved because they do not want to waste your time, their time, and the seller’s time.

Do not sign documents without reading them. Do not sign documents in a hurry. Whenever possible try to get documents that you will be signing ahead of time so you can review them. It is advisable to ask for a copy of all loan papers you are signing a few days ahead of the close of escrow. This way you can review them and get your questions answered. Do not expect to read all the documents during the closing - there is rarely enough time for that.

Always order a title search and purchase title insurance for the property you are buying. Mortgage banks always require a title search and title insurance. Even if you are buying from a trusted relative or friend and pay with cash or have the seller provide financing, without involving a bank loan, don’t be tempted to skip title search to save on closing costs. The fact is, title defects can stem from a time before the sellers took possession of the property. While the title insurance the sellers purchased when they bought the home protects them for as long as they own the home, that policy does not protect you. The one-time cost of a title search and title insurance may save you from a potential investment disaster.

Do not bid on a house that you have only looked at once. Many home buyers are busy with their lives like everyone else, so they look at homes when they have time, evenings and weekends. Make sure if you find a home you like, you go back and walk through it again at least once at a different time.

If there is something unusual about the home or the property that you think you can fix once you own it, make sure you know what you are getting into. Get estimates for the work, talk to a contractor, or your local government to see if you will need any special permits. DO NOT go on the word of your realtor, home inspector or appraiser, they are all very knowledgeable and can give you guidance, but ask others as well. You don’t want to end up in a home with a huge eye-sore that you can do nothing about.

If there is something in particular that is on the property that you want to remain with the property when you purchase it then make sure it’s in the contract. You can avoid many headaches by putting everything in writing. This also means any repairs that show up on the inspection report you will want the seller to do before you purchase should be put in writing.

One of the most common mistakes Buyers make when purchasing a home is assuming that sellers are the ones who pay real estate commissions along with other closing expenses and seller’s concessions. One way or the other, this money comes from the buyer.

Tips for your Open House:

• Clean up the inside of your home. Try and remove the clutter and make your home open and welcoming, people coming through will want to pen every closed and look behind every door. Turn on all the lights and replace any low watt bulbs with higher watt bulbs. You may want to consider a fresh coat of paint.
• Bake some cookies or get a sweet smelling candle (they do have cookie scented candles). Have fresh flowers in your kitchen and/or dining room.
• See if you can get some free flyers, recently sold properties in your area and the price, loan comparison forms based on your property and asking price. A mortgage broker can help you with some of these forms. Have your own flyers ready with your home’s information (look online at another home’s listing and make sure you covered all the bases). Check and see what your state required disclosures are and have them available, Home owners disclosure, lead based paint disclosure, property condition reports, etc.
• Freshen up any landscaping; a fresh layer of mulch can make a huge improvement in appearance. Sweep up walk ways and your drive way, and remove any eye sores or clutter.
• Put on your best. It is time for your best outfit, even if it is football Sunday sweat pants and your favorite team’s jersey is not appropriate. Put on your best smile and be friendly, pretend every person you meet just offered you 25% over your asking price as a cash offer.
• Ask questions. Some people will want the grand tour and some people will just want to be left alone to poke around. Be accommodating and help those who want it.

Always answer any questions honestly. If there is an ugly patch of carpet where your dog chewed up an ink pen, let the prospective buyers know. If the roof leaks in the spring, but it’s now summer and you’ve painted over the stain, tell the prospect. Anything you misrepresent can and probably will be used against you. And of course, you would want the same honesty when you purchase.

Remember to be willing to show your home a lot. In the end its well worth it.

Lots of Mortgage Brokers have a call capture number that comes along with an attention getting sign like 100 Percent Financing. Call for 24 hour Recorded Message that they can lend you to help manage and up the traffic on calls. They automatically capture the number of the caller like caller ID and can have it sent real time by email and text message to the seller and broker for quick prequalification.

Probably the most critical component to the success or failure of a For Sale By Owner is the asking price. It must be high enough so the seller doesn’t do all the work for nothing, yet pricing too high will make it hard to generate interest in the property. Many Realtors will perform a Comparative Market Analysis even though they are not going to be listing the home for sale. They do this because they feel the seller may let the Realtor represent them on the purchase of the seller’s next home. The CMA can prove very valuable in helping the seller determine a proper asking price.

One way to prevent potential litigation for a problem you were unaware of is to hire an inspector to go through your home before you list it. That way, there will be no nasty surprises years later when the new owners discover something that began while you owned it–but didn’t disclose. You don’t have necessarily have to fix the problems, but you do have to disclose their existence.

The National Association of REALTORS estimates that nationwide thirteen percent of real estate sales are done without any involvement from an agent or broker

Be sure and take a look at local and national FSBO companies. Many can get your home listed on the MLS system for a very small fee and provide you with the documents and information you need to do the job yourself. Plus you get the added bonus of also being featured on there website. You may also want to have open house attendee’s sign a guest book with there contact information so you can follow up with them at a later date.

Most important…make sure your house is CLEAN! Potential buyers don’t want to see an inch of dust on the baseboards. If your house looks dirty, who’s to say the upkeep and necessary maintenance have been done.

The kitchen is the single most important room that sells the house. Create a spacious feeling in the kitchen by putting away small appliances, such as microwave oven, toaster, and blender. Also be sure the kitchen counter is free of personal mails, magazines and newspapers.

There can be a great win-win situation created for a FSBO and Mortgage Broker working together where the Broker is taking the phone calls for you. The Broker can determine rather quickly rather a potential buyer would be waste of time for the owner of the property by pulling credit and assessing their potential for obtaining a mortgage.

A mortgage professional can often times help you sell your home faster, by providing free marketing, and even potential qualified buyers.

Disqualifying prospective buyers on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, family status, or national origin is illegal. Discrimination can get you into a heap of legal trouble and can cost you big bucks. If in doubt, check with the Equal Housing Opportunity agency in your area.

You are attempting to sell your home yourself to avoid paying several thousand dollars in commissions. Be willing to spend some of that on advertising. Remember your home is competing for attention with those listed by real estate agents and they are putting ads in homes magazines, mailing out flyers, etc. A small 4 or 5 line ad once a week will most likely not get the job done. Establish a budget that will realistically promote the sale of your home.

Check with a title company for a FSBO kit. Many of them will provide them at no cost to encourage the seller to use them to close the loan. The kit will have a purchase agreement and other helpful information.

One effective way to get a win-win is to help someone with no down payment money on a For Sale By Owner home. The seller is more likely to agree to seller concessions when they know they are saving the realtor commission. If you find a 100% loan for the buyer and the seller will agree to 6% seller concessions, the broker can get a fair commission for playing real estate agent and directing the parties to a good title company or attorney to help with contracts and closing. This is often considerably cheaper than FHA because FHA has the mandatory up front PMI of 1.5% although the interest rate may be a little higher than the FHA rate. You might also ask your mortgage broker about companies that offer to have the PMI added to the interest rate where it is tax deductible, or have them do an 80/20 loan to avoid MI altogether.

Work with a qualified mortgage professional. It cost you nothing, yet they will help you tremendously. A mortgage professional working for the seller should pre qualify anyone who shows an interest in your home - even those who say they are already pre-qualified. This can save you countless hours of frustration dealing with people who are not qualified to purchase your home.

Finding a mortgage professional to work with in your for sale by owner listing can help you a lot. They can make flyers for your home giving different payments and scenarios for potential buyers.

Remember less is more and that also means the furniture in your home, areas that have to much furniture will appear smaller in size than reality. Remove to many personal items so potential buyers can see there own stuff fitting right in. Burn a candle to make your home smell fresh and inviting.

You have the right, under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, to dispute the completeness and accuracy of information in your credit file. When a credit reporting agency receives a dispute, it must reinvestigate and record the current status of the disputed items within a “reasonable period of time,” unless it believes the dispute is “frivolous or irrelevant.” If the credit reporting agency cannot verify a disputed item, it must delete it. If your report contains erroneous information, the credit reporting agency must correct it. If an item is incomplete, the credit reporting agency must complete it.

Don’t Ignore the Problem. If you just hope the problem of errors on your credit history will disappear, then be prepared to wait a long time. Credit information can remain on your report for as long as seven years and up to ten years in cases of bankruptcy.

The credit agencies update every 30 days. If you Dispute an account on your credit report, the agency is obligated to respond to your request with in 30 days. With accurate proof of a faulty account, you will be able to remove that from your credit report

You are allowed a copy of your credit once a year from each credit bureau. Along with your credit report will be a dispute form.

If there is incorrect information on your credit report such as a payment that was reported late that should not have we will be able to correct the information within 3-5 days by going directly through the 3 major credit bureaus and get a rescore to reflect what your credit score should be.

If you are unable to spend the time to write the letters yourself then you might want to hire a credit repair company to do this for you. They will act on your behalf to write the necessary letters to the 3 credit bureaus. There are many companies to choose from these days and it might be in your best interest to consult with your Mortgage Broker as to which company will give you the best service.

The best thing to do to keep an eye on your credit report is to join a Credit Monitoring service such as PrivacyGuard.com they even provide a $1 trial for 2 months. You get all three credit reports with the scores included.

Improving your credit score can be as simple as spreading a large amount of debt on one credit card, over three or four different credit cards.

Prior to applying for a mortgage fixing all credit report errors will optimize your chances of obtain the best financing terms available.

If you find an error, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires credit bureaus and organizations that provide information to them to correct the mistake. But you have to get the ball rolling by requesting an investigation.

Under The Fair Credit Reporting Act effective October 1, 1997, a credit reporting agency has 5 days from the date of receipt of a written investigation request to contact the appropriate credit grantor about investigation the complaint(s) and receive a reply back within 30 days of the original notification date. Within 5 business days after the completion of the investigation, the credit bureau (i.e.: Equifax, Trans Union, Experian) must send a written report to the consumer with its findings with a copy of the revised report if there were nay changes made.

If a credit bureau can not verify that a disputed item is correct as reported, it must modify or remove it from the consumers’ file. If the tradeline confirms a later date that the information was indeed correct, the credit bureau will add the information back into the consumers’ file. It will notify the consumer in writing as to the changes, within 5 days of the change.

DO NOT expect information to be deleted just because a collection account or debt has been paid. Derogatory items will remain on your report for 7 years. The 7 year clock on a derogatory item falling off your report does not start until the item has been satisfied.

The consumer must write a letter of dispute regarding the erroneous information reported by a specific credit reporting agency. The letter must reference; Your full name, Address, Social Security number, the tradeline Account numbers, Brief statement of what is incorrect. Copies of supporting documents (if any) The letter MUST be sent by overnight mail, with return receipt requested. This verifies when the 30 day clock starts ticking.

When disputing questionable items in a credit report, always remember to dispute with all three major credit bureau agencies. When applying for a mortgage, all lenders look at items reported by all three credit bureaus.

Make sure to keep the “acknowledgment” letters that the bureaus send to you at about 2 weeks. There is a date they have officially acknowledged they received your letters in which the 30 days in the FCRA should start.

Rapid rescoring services are an effective, legitimate ampersand growing sector of the consumer credit industry. The good news is that they work. But you can’t use these services directly. Companies that offer rapid rescoring work directly with mortgage lenders and brokers, not with consumers. If you are serious about fixing errors on your credit report, contact your mortgage broker or lender and talk to them about credit repair today.

The credit bureaus are not government run agencies, but are for profit, multi billion dollar industries that make money off of selling your personal information. It is proven that they make more money off of you with bad credit, rather than good credit, so don’t believe everything that they tell you in results you receive back. Make sure to spend time, in detail, looking at your results and ensuring things like the date of verification have the current date. 50% of Trans Union’s verified accounts have old verification dates, which means they never investigated that account, yet put verified as a result anyway.

It is up to the consumer to keep a close watch on their credit. You are allotted one free report a year. But checking your credit once a year is not enough. Experts recommend that you check your credit report before you go out looking for a loan. That means before buying that car or refinancing your home. Also, just as a rule of thumb, you should check your credit at least twice a year in addition to the times listed above. If you are not shopping for any loans, it would still be wise to check your credit every four months. Be sure to utilize the one free report from each of the credit scoring bureaus.

If a creditor verifies a previously deleted item after the 30 day window, they can add it back on. A notice of this Reinsertion must be sent the consumer within 5 days.

The “30 day rule” is a credit repair myth and is not used by knowledgeable credit repair companies or consumers. This 30 day rule only causes reinsertions if not used properly. If the bureau is forced to delete an item at day 31, then most likely most of those accounts will reappear later, with proper reinsertion notification. The very next line in the FCRA states that if the creditor or credit bureau verifies an account late, or after the 30 day timeline, they can simply add it back on.

Your credit picture is very important and should be kept up the entire time. Do not wait until the last minute (I.E. you want to apply for a mortgage next month). Credit repair is a process and you should allow appropriate time to remove items from the bureaus

Credit reporting is an imperfect system and there are times when you’re credit is tainted and it’s not your fault. Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union don’t always report the same information.

Failure of a borrower to make timely mortgage payments under a loan agreement.

Borrowers with a delinquent mortgage will generally have a higher interest rate than those who are not delinquent. Credit scores also play an important factor in this.

Different types of delinquency will affect your score in different ways. A late payment on your mortgage is the most damaging.

Your credit report will reflect these late payments, using the standard symbols listed below, to read the late payment history. i.e.: R2 would show a revolving (credit card) debt, that has been past due more then 30 days. O = Open (entire balance due each month) R = Revolving (amount due can change each month)I = Installment (fixed amount due each month)0 = Approved, but account is too new to rate or not yet used 1 = Paid as agreed 2 = 30 or more days past due 3 = 60 or more days past due 4 = 90 or more days past due 5 = 120 or more days past due or is a collection account7 = Making regular payments under a wage earner plan or other repayment arrangement8 = Repossession9 = Charged off account

Having delinquencies on any loan will decrease your credit score, and will make it more difficult for you to obtain financing for your home.

If you know that your credit report contains delinquencies which are incorrect or are not attributed to you personally, please tell one of our loan specialists about the situation so that we may assist you in removing the delinquencies and qualifying for the loan program you truly deserve.

Your delinquency will have a major impact on your credit scores. The more recent the delinquency, the more your scores will drop.

A delinquency on a mortgage loan will be considered a greater derogatory factor than a delinquency on unsecured credit by a mortgage loan underwriter. For this reason, homeowners would be advised to do everything possible to try and make their mortgage payments on time.

Delinquency is when you fail to make mortgage payments, when they are due. For most mortgages, payments are due on the 1st day of the month. Even though they might not charge a “late fee” right away, the payment is still considered to be late and the loan delinquent. When a loan payment is more than 30 days late, most lenders report the late payment to one or more credit bureaus.

Delinquencies are also known as “lates.” On your mortgage they are reflected in days 30, 60, 90, or 120. A 120 day late is also considered foreclosure, in the eyes of any lender.

If you ever get seriously behind in your mortgage payments and feel foreclosure looming be especially wary of companies offering assistance. Often these are scam-artists who swindle thousand’s from unknowing homeowners, sometimes leaving them penniless and homeless.

Most lenders consider a loan to be delinquent when payments on the loan are 30 to 60 days past due.

Most lending banks will overlook delinquencies if the homeowner can satisfactorily explain the cause of the delinquencies and the unlikelihood of recurring. Acceptable causes include divorce, separation, tragedy in the family, loss in the mail caused by relocation, etc. Homeowners are often required to supply supporting documents.

If you find yourself in a situation where you might not be able to make all of you monthly obligations you want to make sure that you make your house payment in time as to not be 30 days late. A 30 day late on your house payment can hinder you from qualifying for a mortgage more so than a 30 day late on a credit card.

There are many lenders that will finance you even if you are delinquent.

Other sites: Mortgage Broker | Conforming Loans | FSBO | Mortgage banker | 1003 The Loan Application | New Credit Card Minimum Payments | AZ Mortgage Source | Delinquency | The Lending Process | Reasons Loan Applications Are Rejected | CCRs | Fixed-rate mortgage | VA | Consolidating Credit Card Debt into Your Mortgage| Pay Option Arm Calculator

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