Credit Scores
Credit scores play a big part in the mortgage world. Learn how you can make the most of your score to expand your options and snag the best rate.Two Simple Ways to Boost Your Credit Score Before Applying for a Mortgage
About a month ago, I cautioned readers to avoid swiping the credit card before applying for a mortgage. In short, the more you charge, the higher your outstanding balances. And the higher your balances, the lower your available credit and ... Read More »
Nearly Half of Home Purchases Are Delayed Due to Low Credit Scores
I’ve written about the importance of credit scores before, especially when it comes to getting a mortgage, mentioning that you could save tens of thousands of dollars if you simply had excellent credit. Fortunately, it appears that the general public ... Read More »
Zillow: Credit Score Single Most Important Factor for Mortgage Rates
This morning, Zillow, the company behind the love it or hate it Zestimate, released a new study that analyzed the impact credit scores have on mortgage rates and corresponding payments. The company used data from 13 million loan quotes and ... Read More »
Purchase Applications Grab Majority Share of Mortgage Market in July as Refinances Fade Away
There’s been a lot of fuss about the refinance market drying up lately, and we now know it’s not just noise. Last month, purchase-money mortgages gobbled up the majority share of the overall mortgage market, according to the latest Origination ... Read More »
Study: Minimum Credit Card Payments Increase Risk of Mortgage Default
A new study from credit reporting agency TransUnion revealed some interesting insights about credit card use and mortgage performance. The report titled, “TransUnion Minimum vs. Actual Payments Study,” found that roughly four in 10 consumers pay off their credit cards ... Read More »
Slowing Mortgage Market Could Lead to Looser Lending
The forecast for the 2013 residential mortgage market wasn’t all that optimistic. Back in December, the Mortgage Bankers Association said it expected refinance volume to slip to $785 billion from $1.2 trillion in 2012, while purchase money mortgage activity was ... Read More »
Fico Explains Why Short Sales Hurt Your Credit Score
There’s been a lot of confusion about short sales, especially with regard to how they affect one’s credit score. Plenty of people have recommended them as an alternative to foreclosure, even going as far as to say they can spare ... Read More »
Taking Out a Mortgage Can Help Your Credit Score
If you’ve ever pulled your credit report and/or score, you may have noticed that the lack of a mortgage could actually be holding you back from credit score perfection. You may already have a seemingly great credit score, but the ... Read More »
Short Sale vs. Foreclosure: What’s the Credit Score Impact?
Mortgage match-up: “Foreclosure vs. short sale on your credit report.” It’s been a while since I’ve come up with a mortgage match-up, but there’s been a lot of fuss about short sales and credit scores lately, so I wanted to ... Read More »
Barely Any Mortgages Offered to Home Buyers With Credit Scores Below 620
The National Association of Realtors recently noted that home purchase contract failures have doubled, with 18 percent of NAR members reporting fallout in recent months. Put simply, a contract failure is a cancellation related to a declined mortgage application, a ... Read More »
