Everyone knows mortgage rates have plummeted in recent weeks, but what does that actually mean for those looking to refinance?
With tough guidelines in place and flagging property values, it could equate to a lot of spinning wheels and paperwork.
And one mortgage banker is arguing that erroneous medical collections showing up on potential borrowers’ credit reports are throwing another wrench in the deal.
“The tragedy is that the collection accounts, even those that have been paid in full, are lowering these individuals’ credit scores, often to the point that they either can’t qualify for a loan, or will have to pay higher interest rates if they do,” said Rodney Anderson of Rodney Anderson Lending Services.
According to Anderson, 45 percent of the 1,701 loan applications his company received between June and September involved borrowers with at least one medical collection.
And these collections can kill an applicant’s credit score (whether legitimate or not), even if the remainder of their credit profile is sound, eliminating the possibility of any mortgage rate relief.
Anderson noted that medical billing is “notoriously error-prone,” and as a result, has launched a petition to lessen the severity of medical collection-related credit dings, which he says can lower credit scores more than 100 points.
The petition essentially calls for a new federal law mandating the removal of a medical collection from a borrower’s credit report within 30 days of it being paid or settled, instead of it kicking around for seven years.
Medical billing is certainly an area that needs to be looked at, but the whole credit reporting industry is in need of some serious revamping, and could easily be blamed for a share of the mess were in now.
(photo: paulkeleher)