Your GOOD CREDIT is Just Not Good Enough Anymore

Before that nasty thing we call the mortgage crisis descended upon us, we mortgage brokers lived in simpler times. With so many lenders, and such broad guidelines, matching a borrower...(good credit.....bad credit....no credit!)... to a lender was pretty easy. No one thought much about credit scores, because for every seat, there was a saddle. And off we rode into the sunset....

Oh, if only the story ended there. How could we have known some saddles would slip off, the horse would run wild, and some riders would be left on their rear end in the middle of nowhere?

The problem is, getting back in the saddle these days requires some serious work. Before you go into your next refinance or purchase, take a deep breath, put your pride aside, and be prepared for your mortgage broker to kick butt. Your butt, that is.

Even borrowers with "GOOD CREDIT" require an extra step these days. You need EVEN BETTER scores today to get the rate and terms that spoiled you yesterday. Call it sticker shock. Call it a wake up call.

Your "good credit" is just NOT GOOD ENOUGH anymore.

By enhancing your credit score you can get a better rate, have the ability to use stated income (maybe stated assets as well), and have the ability to do a 90% loan instead of an 80% loan. DO NOT ACCEPT GOOD ENOUGH, just because your credit is "good". This could cost you thousands of dollars.

MAKE YOUR MORTGAGE BROKER GO THE EXTRA MILE.

Your mortgage broker has the ability to "re-score" your credit to get you the score you need. This is done through credit analyzers and "what if" simulators that are typically a part of the software package that allows a mortgage broker to run your credit.

For example, a credit analyzer allows the mortgage broker to put in a certain dollar amount the mortgage applicant is willing to allocate to paying off debt. The analyzer then calculates exactly how much should be paid down on each card, or how to re-arrange the way the debt is distributed among the cards, and spits out the exact score enhancement expected. 

The "what if" simulator shows all of the applicants debts, and allows the mortgage broker to simulate credit limits, amount owed to each, and to repair errors and negative credit. A quick calculation will show the amount of points the score will go up or down as a result. This can be done over and over until the desired results come about.

It may amaze you at how easy it is to add points to your score. One of my clients paid down one card $2000 and got 20 points. Another client paid off a $63 dollar tax lien, and went up 40 points. I find myself putting all of my clients through this system to make absolutely, positively certain we can get the BEST loan.

The credit system also offers the mortgage broker the ability to re-score the credit directly with the bureaus in about a week. There are additional charges to enhance your credit this way, which I typically charge to my clients' closing costs. These charges are small in comparison to paying a higher rate, or settling for a mortgage that was not what you wanted.

Never settle. Make certain you have the ability to get the best mortgage you can. Look at how your credit can be enhanced and do not allow yourself to be lulled into complacency because you have "good credit".