The following was one of the 1st blogs I have ever done! I changed it up quite a bit, but left the content approximately the same! Now that I have been in "the RAIN" for a while, I thought it was DEFINITELY worth re-doing and re-stating! Plus, I added pictures! :)
***NOTE*** I am looking for EVERYONE to comment, so please do not be shy! That means you credit scoring & repair companies! HOWEVER, we are looking for ADVICE not sales pitches!
Well, so far, I have been to over 18 hours worth of "credit repair" training, as well as HOW credit scores work, and can be improved. I have learned ALOT during these seminars, webinars, and training sessions. Sadly, I have learned that even with over 20 years in the mortgage industry, I had been advising people incorrectly! ARGHHH.... Well, in the olden days, we used to actually instruct people to "TEAR UP" all of their credit cards, and/or cancel them after a debt consolidation loan! I now realize that is/was a mistake! Though I am not a licensed and certified credit counselor, we as lenders are commonly asked for advice on this very topic, and until now, we were just using common sense as it applied to their credit bureau. For example, if a person was over their limit on a credit card, we would instruct them to pay it down below the limit. Obviously, this is very basic advice. Nonetheless, we could only GUESS at how it would affect their score Currently, the liberal news media, as well as the very catchy songs on TV from www.Freecreditreport.com are NOT helping!!!
There is a HUGE difference between a CONSUMER CREDIT REPORT and a MORTGAGE or LOAN CREDIT REPORT! While I do realize that there is a purpose to the well advertised website, it doesnt really accomplish anything as it pertains to getting a mortgage, whether you are a first time homebuyer, move up buyer, or investor! It does give you a place to start though, yet can be quite different from a mortgage report! Recently, I had a borrower that had incorrect residency information on his credit bureau. Believe it or not, this IS becoming an issue that we as lenders have to deal with, upon approval of a loan. In other words, we have to have the borrower send us a letter of explanation regarding the multiple addresses in the credit file, or ones that dont match! This can be a hassle, and in some cases, can actually create DOUBT that the customer resides there! Back to my example: My borrower owns 3 rental properties. He lived in one property for some time. He wasnt always getting his mail at his home, because the tenant next door was accidently getting his, and throwing it away, as opposed to just handing it to him! Hence, he started having all of his business mail, sent to his parents home. What this did, was create an address seperate form any of the ones he owned. Our company attempted to handle a refinance of the property he was actually living in. The goal was to combine all three mortgages on the property into one. However, due to the address errors on the credit bureau, the FUNDER, did not believe he lived there! We tried letters, power bills, everything, but they THOUGHT that he was simply trying to refinance a rental property, at a OWNER OCCUPIED interest rate! You see, rental property rates can be much higher rates than you get when you finance a home that you actually live in! Our FUNDER suggested that we get his credit bureau updated so that it reflected his address correctly!
??????????????????????????????????????????????
We were instructed to go to www.annualcreditreport.com. What you do when you get there is pull your credit for each company. You create a username & password, then you are issued a PIN#. In addition, you get an actual PHONE NUMBER to call, and speak to a human being! However, they will not correct anything, or even talk with you, UNLESS YOU HAVE THE PIN#. Once you get this corrected, it corrects the mistake at the BUREAU level, and not just on the mortgage companies or banks credit bureau!
HUGE DIFFERENCE HERE! You see, most banks, credit unions, and mortgage companies have their own credit bureau company they order through! All of them have some type of "speedy" credit repair program that you are charged an extra fee for! In some cases, this can get QUITE pricey! So, if you are going to have your lender HELP YOU get credit repairs done, make SURE you ask them how much it will cost!
You can do almost ALL OF THIS ON YOUR OWN! However, you have to be patient, you have to have the time, and you have to be dilligent!
There are also other options such as credit repair companies. There are tons of these types of companies that have popped up all over the planet! Personally, I believe most of them GOUGE you and make phony promises! However, recently I have connected with one that isnt too bad cost wise, and has some quality people working for them! Their name is Credit Coach. They have COACHES that work with you, and help you stay on top of changes each and every month! Their website address is: www.creditcoachwi.com They send email alerts and other KOOOOL things too! :) You need to "Weigh" the difference and cost between doing it yourself, and have a professional helping you!
Email is: csawyer@creditcoachwisconsin.com
Anyway, I would not go through Free Credit Report, unless you have just never seen your credit bureau before! Go to Annual Credit Report at start there! Or, for more answers, webinars, examples, scenarios, you can also try www.myfico.com.
OH, and if you want to get their stupid song/jingle out of your head ( and yes you can click on the YOUTUBE logo), start thinking about
MY SHARONA! This song makes you forget EVERYTHING! Including the groceries!
Proudly serving the entire State of Wisconsin since 2003!
UPDATE #1 5-7-09 From Jeff Belonger
"Don't forget to add in you blog about freecreditreport.com that it says at the very end of the commercial and in small letters at the bottom of the screen, that you must be enrolled in their special program to receive the fre credit report."
Great point Jeff...Thanks!
UPDATE #2 5-11-09
I received this from a customer today! "Darin - just got this - interesting that it's $14.95 per month after the free 7 day trial. . .they state it in reverse typeface, which is very difficult to read on a computer (and really bad on newsprint, too). I thought it was interesting that they have a disclaimer telling people they are entitled to a free credit report from each bureau annually. . . .I can't figure out what this service would do for me that getting my free report doesn't do! MB
WOW...unbelieveable! Huh?? Thanks MB!
Good luck! Darin@ One Source Mortgage,LLC Darin@osmwi.com or visit my profile at
608-592-2227
Other Great Blogs to check out!
Comments(43)