Credit Proofreading: Detecting Errors that Incorrectly Lower Credit Scores

April 23, 2008

Why is credit proofreading needed?
When borrowers apply for mortgage loans, their credit files contain three credit scores, calculated by the credit bureaus: Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. The data used to calculate these scores is collected, managed and reported independently by each of these bureaus. Over time, these files gather corrupt, erroneous, outdated and otherwise harmful data that lead to inaccurate – and often lower – credit scores.

What is credit proofreading?
Credit proofreading is the automated examination of credit file data, supplied by the three major credit bureaus, to detect whether or not a credit score has been incorrectly evaluated due to errors within the credit file.

What errors does credit proofreading detect?
Two types of errors are spotted: credit data errors and credit usage errors.

Error Type #1:  Credit Data Errors
Creditors report payment history to the credit bureaus using data such as credit limit, credit balance, payment amount, current status and payment history. Computers read this data to calculate a credit score. If anything is entered incorrectly due to human or computer error, inaccurate scores may result.

Error Type #2: Credit Usage Errors
Credit usage reflects the way borrowers use existing credit lines. Since credit use is a factor in calculating credit scores, improper spending habits can lower credit scores. Credit usage is misunderstood because many borrowers have little awareness of how their credit use affects their scores. Credit usage activities that get factored into credit scores include the number of available credit lines, the amount of debt incurred or the balance on each credit line and whether a credit card is used too much or too little.

How can credit proofreading help?
Credit proofreading evaluates the accuracy of credit reports, identifies errors, estimates how many points each error is costing the borrower and lists specific actions that can be taken to correct errors. Results can typically be returned immediately, and most errors can be resolved within 72 hours. For borrowers with credit usage errors, mortgage brokers and loan officers who conduct credit proofreading can offer suggestions on how to alter credit usage habits to legitimately increase the credit score.

How is credit proofreading different from credit repair?
Credit repair companies falsely claim to clean up credit reports, for a substantial fee, so borrowers can get approved for auto loans, mortgages or insurance. These schemes do nothing more than dispute information, which borrowers can do for themselves easily and at no cost. Credit proofreading, on the other hand, evaluates the accuracy of credit reports and assists borrowers in correcting errors or changing spending behavior – at no cost to the borrower. Further credit proofreading analyzes the actual data within the credit file, something a borrower can not do without the help of a mortgage professional.

Where can borrowers receive this service?
More than 4,000 mortgage professionals around the country have automated credit proofreading tools to identify and resolve data and usage errors within credit files.

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Posted by Caped Crusader

Avoid Credit Repair Firms

April 11, 2008

The next time you think about paying a credit repair service take out a $20 bill from your wallet or purse and put it in an envelope addressed to your favorite charity. Then pull out another $20 bill and mail it to your second favorite charity. Grab 10 more envelopes, 10 more twenty dollar bills and ponder ten more sources for your new found altruism. Do mail the envelopes.

Using a credit repair service may well cost you more than $500 in up front fees. Instead, I’ll show you how to do exactly what they would do for you for free. And faster too. Consider the $240 you’ve given to charity a chance to put 50% of the money you would have given to the credit repair firm to much better use. 

Let’s take the mystery out of credit repair right now. All a credit repair company does for you is dispute information on your credit report. This means they will tell the credit bureaus when information is wrong. Within 45 to 90 days, if the information really is wrong, then it will be corrected. That’s it. Ironically, in the time it takes you find and pay for a credit repair company, you could have completed the task with the bureaus yourself. And for free.

Credit repair companies prey on ignorance, on consumers that don’t know how to do what I am going to plainly show you how to do. Because the process seems difficult, and involves highly personal credit reporting information, consumers blindly trust these firms and unfortunately pay whatever they ask. The fact that some credit repair firms hide behind a lawyer title makes the process all the more deceiving. The most insidious aspect of this somewhat shady business practice is that the company implies it will somehow give you a better credit score than you rightfully deserve. This is a lie – and, regrettably is the biggest reason people throw lots of money at these firms.

Again, all a credit repair company can actually do for you is dispute wrong information in your credit file. And who knows whether something is wrong in your credit file better than you? Even if you hired a credit repair firm, you would still have to tell them where the errors are. Let me say here that some firms will suggest you dispute every derogatory item on your credit report – and make the lender prove whether its true or not. Don’t fall for this. Even if the lender doesn’t respond within the time allowed, the information will only be changed in the short term. (which renders the costly improvement effort useless). You see, the next time the lender reports to the bureau, your accurate derogatory information will reappear.

The really good news about disputing wrong information is that all three credit bureaus (TransUnion, Equifax and Experian) now use a free online dispute process – which means you can review your credit file line by line, search your file for errors and dispute any you find without picking up the phone or even mailing a single letter. The whole process takes a few minutes and costs a big fat zero. And you can do it once every single year – which, by the way, isn’t a bad habit.

To check your credit report for errors simply go to www.annualcreditreport.com where you can order a credit report for free once a year. Make sure you review all three bureaus since each is an independent company and any one of the three may be reporting your payment history in error. While reviewing the report, each bureau gives you the option to dispute information. Each uses a slightly different dispute method, but all are easy nonetheless.

When reviewing tradelines look for any accounts that are not yours. Keep in mind, some may report using creditor names with which you aren’t familiar, but you may well be the account holder. Look also at the inquiries – has a company pulled your credit without your permission. If so, you can get the inquiry removed. Look for balance on credit cards reporting incorrectly as well as high credit limits. Creditors are notorious for misreporting credit limits – and if they are reporting a limit that’s too low it may hurt your credit score. Ditto for balances reported erroneously high.

In the end look for anything inaccurate and use the online process to let the bureaus know about it. The bureaus will contact the creditor for you and verify if what you are saying is correct. At no cost to you, the bureau will update your file to reflect the accurate information. And, in addition to saving a lot of money, you’ll learn a lot about your credit file – which is a rather nice side benefit.

There is more, however. Technically competent mortgage brokers can make very dramatic and legitimate increases in your credit score in just a few days. I’ll blog about this later.

2 Comments | credit reports, mortgage, rapid rescoring | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Caped Crusader

Why You Need A Mortgage Broker

April 4, 2008

Initially this blog was intended for those who made a living originating mortgage loans. I’ve discovered however, that some readers are non-industry types, desiring simply to better understand the ins and outs of credit reports. Glad you’re here, and starting today I will included blogs about credit from the borrowers perspective.

I am not a mortgage broker, but as I work in the mortgage industry I know many both personally and professionally. As in any profession there are some well versed in the job, and others not so much. In a way, mortgage brokers are a bit like their professional cousins, the real estate brokers, in that when real estate is booming everyone wants to be one. Know up front that newbies in the mortgage business fail because they try to maximize their own earnings (commissions) up front. The good ones understand that helping you find the best (lowest cost) mortgage today, means additional business from you (and the clients you’ll refer) in the future.

And that’s the rub. Good mortgage brokers can save you money, a lot of money, during the course of home ownership. I’m often surprised by the number of people who tell me (smugly and in a way that implies they are letting me in on a secret I’m not quite worthy of hearing) how they always go directly to lenders to save money by cutting out the middle man.  Their logic breaks down because mortgage brokers are not analogous to typical retailing middle men. So whenever one of these jaw waggers corners you and starts spouting mortgage buying strategies, just remember this – mortgage brokers don’t cost you money, they save you money.

The mortgage broker makes money in two ways. First, they’ll ask you to pay them loan origination fees. This is money you pay during closing which amount is based on the size of your loan. You need to know that you should never agree to origination fees. Its kind of like agreeing to put money down when you agree to lease a car. They may request it, but just say no.

Instead let the lender pay the mortgage broker for you. Lenders generally quote the mortgage broker a wholesale interest rate which will be a bit lower than the rate your mortgage broker quotes you. The higher the rate the broker can get you to accept, the more he or she makes. Fine, we’re all capitalists after all, but simply do your due diligence and compare loan rates and programs with others and you can ensure a good deal. Some brokers, the good ones, aren’t greedy – and will present you a very attractive program. By comparing rates and terms you’ll quickly identify the best offers.

Brokers can save you money because they shop multiple loan sources for you. Many lenders do nothing but originate mortgage loans through mortgage brokers. Since these lenders have low overhead (no branches, no tellers, no mortgage sales people) they can often price lower than the direct lender even when using an independent mortgage broker to originate the loan. And the good brokers get very attractive wholesale pricing, which ultimately saves you even more.

In the future we’ll talk more about mortgage brokers, they other ways they help and how you might select a good one. But for now, just realize that you should talk with a professional mortgage broker before you make that offer on the new home.

And, yes, we’ll talk about credit too.

No Comments » | credit reports, mortgage | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Caped Crusader