years old, a car lease, a closed mortgage, and a few paid student loans
on her credit reports. Her score was a 780 which was a very good
score. She applied for a $500,000 loan. Her credit card debt was
$80,000 and her ratio of balance to limit on revolving credit was 20%
balance to limit. Her income was $50,000 on paper. She also owned
some vending machines in a Laundromat earning an extra $75,000 a
year in cash. She was declined for the loan since her provable income
was way too low to cover the mortgage and her credit card debt.
What Else Are Lenders Looking For?
If you plan to get a home loan soon or are in the process of applying for one, it
helps to know what else banks are looking for before giving you that much-
coveted loan.
Tracy Becker, who is also author of “The Credit Solutions Kit” and the soon-to-
be released “Credit Score Power”, told DailyMarkets.com a number of reasons
behind rejections for a mortgage despite having a good credit score:
1. Many banks require 2-4 primary credit trade lines that are a certain
age.
Some need to be 12 months old and others need to be 24 months old.
Authorized users do not count in this mortgage rule. Each bank has different
time requirements.
2. Lack of income is a major factor. If the applicant’s score is an 800 and
the income does not cover the amount of monthly mortgage payment, there
will be a rejection.
3. Value of the house or property the mortgage is being placed on. If
the appraisal comes in lower than expected, the bank could reject the
mortgage.
4. Judgments on applicant. If a judgment is placed on the report, it will
come off after 7 years but is still enforceable for over 20 years. It may not
show up on the credit report and scores, but once a title search is done, it will
stop the closing or at best cause problems.
Tracy said, “There have been incidents where consumers are declined for a
loan based on finding out the wife is pregnant which, the bank fearing the loss
of the second income, will cause possible loan defaults.”
Your Credit Score Is More Important Than Ever
Keeping an eye on your credit score is still very important, if not more so,
despite the fact that lenders are also taking in account factors other than your
credit score when deciding whether to approve you for a mortgage loan or not.
In fact, if your FICO score falls below 620, you are unlikely to qualify for any
mortgage. And according to myFico.com, 30% of Americans have FICO scores
at or below that level.
To find out your credit score at any time, you have to pay to get it from any of
the three major US credit rating agencies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
We at DailyMarkets.com have done the homework for you and
scrutinized the fine print. Below is a listing of a few Credit Score
Monitoring offers and we state whether each one has a free trial offer
or not.
1) Equifax Complete (Equifax)
Equifax Complete gives you a 3-in-1 consolidated credit report and 3 scores
from all the 3 major credit rating agencies in the U.S., namely, Equifax,
Experian and TransUnion. This report will explain to you what’s affecting each
of your score. You get unlimited access to your Equifax Credit Report and
score, with detailed explanation. For those of you who like to check your credit
score very frequently, this unlimited access will be very useful. What we like
most about this service is that it monitors all the 3 US credit agencies, and will
alert you by email within 24 hours if there are any major changes to your credit
files. With their Interactive Score Estimator, you can see what might happen if
you increase your credit limits or pay down your debts. On top of that, you get