What To Expect When Applying For A Mortgage Part 1

Happy New Year to All! I'm glad to see the holiday season behind us, and I'm ready to plunge right into 2010!

Here is my first installment of a four part series -

What To Expect When Applying For A Mortgage Loan

Part 1 – Check Out Your Credit

When you’re ready to take the plunge into the mortgage arena, whether you’re purchasing a new home or refinancing your current home, you may be surprised at how the process works. It is very important to put your personal financial picture in the best possible light, so that you can qualify for the most available loans programs and preferred interest rates. It helps to be prepared before you make the call to your mortgage consultant.

A good rule of thumb is to annually review your credit report with the 3 credit agencies: TransUnion, Experian and Equifax. You can do this easily by accessing www.annualcreditreport.com. You can review all three credit bureaus through this one website. It’s free and available to you every 12 months, so take advantage. When accessing the website, make sure you have plenty of time and paper (and ink!) in your printer, to print out your reports. Also, be aware that the website will initially question you about specific creditors that you have used or previous address information to prove your identity before it will let you gain access to your information. This can catch you off-guard if you don’t have a good memory or the proper information in front of you.

Once you receive your credit information, review thoroughly, and if appropriate, dispute derogatory items immediately. It can take up to 30 days for a dispute to be corrected. It most likely will take over 60 to 90 days to impact your credit score once the derogatory item is corrected or removed, so make sure to follow up diligently on any disputes.

Keeping your credit in good health is critical and will ensure you the best loan programs and rates. If you need more information on credit scoring, disputing credit, or would like to review sample dispute letters, please contact me at bhale@cinci.rr.com or (513) 520-6044.

Look for the second installment of this three part series in the upcoming days!