Those that made the quick buck have slowly been introducing themselves back in the business and you need to watch out for them.

Here are some questions to ask the “average” loan officer. If they studder on any of these, RUN away:

1. What are mortgage rates based on?
2. What economic reports are coming out this week that can affect interest rates?
3. Do you have access to real time mortgage bond quotes? (this is the funniest)

Anyways, with all this being said, I just ran across a scenario and thought I’d share to help all prospective buyers or someone trying to refinance.

CHECK YOUR CREDIT EVERY 90 DAYS! A prospective client of mine basically lost his ability to buy a house and get the home buyer tax credit.

Why?

Because he wasn’t aware of a DEFERRED STUDENT LOAN that reported a late payment. I had him call his student loan company, and sure enough, they sent out a payment request 6 months ago which the person disregarded. Well because of this, it got reported as 90 days late, and dropped his credit score down a decent amount; an amount so large that he now cannot qualify.

Many do not know this, but credit inquiries fall off your credit report every 90 days.

Do not let this happen to you, or anyone you may know.

If you’d like a copy of your free credit report, feel free to give me a call and I’d be happy to help.

This can not only cost you TONS of money in higher interest down the line, but can cost you FREE money up front as well!

Be smart,

Tommy

By Steve Bucci

Dear Debt Adviser,
A recent credit score report from TransUnion states that I “have no real estate accounts that can be used in determining a credit score.” Yet I do have a mortgage in good standing with a credit union that does not show up on my credit report. Would it be worth the effort to have this mortgage included, and how would I go about doing so?
– Eric

Dear Eric,
Your problem is more common than you might expect, although I don’t usually see it from mainstream lenders. An estimated 15 million consumers in the U.S. have mortgages that are not reported to the credit bureaus, according to Michael Nathans, the founder of Pay Rent, Build Credit, Inc. in Annapolis, Md. Nathans has been working for years to empower consumers with the ability to have their regular bill payments — often referred to as alternative or nontraditional credit information — included in credit decisions. I’ll come back to this later.

I predict that one of the other bureaus will have your mortgage listed. It would be unusual for your credit union not to have a relationship with at least one of the bureaus. It is more likely that the credit union does not have a relationship with TransUnion. So, I suggest you begin by checking your credit reports from the other two major credit bureaus — Equifax and Experian. You can access a free copy of your credit reports annually at www.AnnualCreditReport.com. Review your reports for accuracy and dispute any inaccurate or out-of-date information with the bureau that reported it.

Should you find that your mortgage does not appear on any of your credit reports from the major credit bureaus, I recommend you contact your credit union and ask what its policy is on reporting mortgage loans. Reporting your loan may have slipped through the cracks and once the credit union is alerted, it will be a simple matter of sending in the account activity to the bureaus.It could be that your credit union does not have a relationship with any of the credit bureaus, particularly if it’s very small. If that is the case, the bureaus will not contact your lender for information, and your account will not be included on that bureau’s report. Creditors are not required by law to report information to the credit bureaus, and likewise, the credit bureaus are not required to request information from creditors who do not have a financial relationship with the bureau such as landlords, small or private lenders or many utilities.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a practical way for a consumer to add nonreported accounts or payment histories to their bureau files. In order for accounts to be included in your bureau reports and scores, the source of the information must meet specific requirements under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, including updating a reported account regularly via the bureaus automated reporting system.

Some good news for consumers is Section 202.6 (b)(6) of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act establishes a consumer’s right to present all of his recurring monthly payment history in establishing his creditworthiness, and that information must be considered by a lender if it is available. Nathans, mentioned above, is now working on a Web-based, secure, consumer self-storage application for bill-paying information that should meet this requirement, enabling consumers to present their financial file to any lender and have it scored.

Until that happens, if your account does not appear on any report, I suggest that you keep a copy of your annual mortgage statement from your lender, the one you get for your taxes at year-end. It will show your payments and any fees you may have paid if you were late. Then, you can show any potential lender that you have a mortgage loan in good standing with your credit union that hasn’t been reported on your credit report, and you’ll be able to offer documentation of the loan when applying for credit.

Good luck!

By Steve Bucci

Dear Debt Adviser,
A recent credit score report from TransUnion states that I “have no real estate accounts that can be used in determining a credit score.” Yet I do have a mortgage in good standing with a credit union that does not show up on my credit report. Would it be worth the effort to have this mortgage included, and how would I go about doing so?
– Eric

Dear Eric,
Your problem is more common than you might expect, although I don’t usually see it from mainstream lenders. An estimated 15 million consumers in the U.S. have mortgages that are not reported to the credit bureaus, according to Michael Nathans, the founder of Pay Rent, Build Credit, Inc. in Annapolis, Md. Nathans has been working for years to empower consumers with the ability to have their regular bill payments — often referred to as alternative or nontraditional credit information — included in credit decisions. I’ll come back to this later.

I predict that one of the other bureaus will have your mortgage listed. It would be unusual for your credit union not to have a relationship with at least one of the bureaus. It is more likely that the credit union does not have a relationship with TransUnion. So, I suggest you begin by checking your credit reports from the other two major credit bureaus — Equifax and Experian. You can access a free copy of your credit reports annually at www.AnnualCreditReport.com. Review your reports for accuracy and dispute any inaccurate or out-of-date information with the bureau that reported it.

Should you find that your mortgage does not appear on any of your credit reports from the major credit bureaus, I recommend you contact your credit union and ask what its policy is on reporting mortgage loans. Reporting your loan may have slipped through the cracks and once the credit union is alerted, it will be a simple matter of sending in the account activity to the bureaus.It could be that your credit union does not have a relationship with any of the credit bureaus, particularly if it’s very small. If that is the case, the bureaus will not contact your lender for information, and your account will not be included on that bureau’s report. Creditors are not required by law to report information to the credit bureaus, and likewise, the credit bureaus are not required to request information from creditors who do not have a financial relationship with the bureau such as landlords, small or private lenders or many utilities.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a practical way for a consumer to add nonreported accounts or payment histories to their bureau files. In order for accounts to be included in your bureau reports and scores, the source of the information must meet specific requirements under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, including updating a reported account regularly via the bureaus automated reporting system.

Some good news for consumers is Section 202.6 (b)(6) of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act establishes a consumer’s right to present all of his recurring monthly payment history in establishing his creditworthiness, and that information must be considered by a lender if it is available. Nathans, mentioned above, is now working on a Web-based, secure, consumer self-storage application for bill-paying information that should meet this requirement, enabling consumers to present their financial file to any lender and have it scored.

Until that happens, if your account does not appear on any report, I suggest that you keep a copy of your annual mortgage statement from your lender, the one you get for your taxes at year-end. It will show your payments and any fees you may have paid if you were late. Then, you can show any potential lender that you have a mortgage loan in good standing with your credit union that hasn’t been reported on your credit report, and you’ll be able to offer documentation of the loan when applying for credit.

Good luck!