I thought it would be very helpful to us "netters" to find out some information about mortages that anyone has gotten in the past few years who are posting on this board. Many of us are still renters and we are never quite sure how far away we are from our homebuying goals. Now I know that much more goes into a loan process than a credit card application but I thought is might benefit some of us to know several things.. Was your mortgage FICO driven , if so did they merge all three reports? What was your score and did you get a good rate with that score? Did you have a full down payment? What mortgage compnay did you use and during the loan process did they grill you regarding specific items on your CR? Was your mortgage company sympathetic to past credit problem? Any advice from those who have been there-Mistakes made, happy suprises ETC Thanks so much
The last 2 banks I worked with on mortgages -- One local savings bank was completely non-FICO driven. They did pull reports with scores, but the only rules were ratios (28/36) and no derogs. In 1996, 1st mortgage, I had FICO scores of TU 643, EX 619. 20% down, standard ARM rate of 7.5%. I had to explain the BK from 1995 (none of my personal debt was included, so my file looked great except for the BK). In 1999, I re-financed and added my sig. other to the mortgage. TU 651, EX 634. Same situation as before, but s/o had a few collections. I had to get them off before final approval (the choice was given to me to either prove that they were paid in full or get them removed). Rate ARM at 6.625% This week, refianced again with Bank of America. They aren't score-driven, but if you have good scores (>650 or so) you qualify for their "80% less paperwork" underwriting - which is like applying for a credit card (no tax returns, pay stubs, bank statements). I had EX 701 (YEAH!!!), TU 669 and EQ 663. S/O had about the same scores. Keep in mind - past problems (more than 2 years old) aren't looked at with any real scrutiny, AS LONG AS THEY ARE PAID. Anything unpaid MUST be paid or removed prior to approval. Any judgements, tax leins, or BKs will have to be explained. And, most important, the ratios have to add up (28% housing, 36% total debt .... calculated as a % of total gross [verifiable & documented] monthly income ) Hope that helps, mj
Just my experience... A few years ago I got a $300,000 mortgage on a $340,000 house at 7.25% with scores in the 580-600 range. I couldn't even qualify for a crap one toy card at the time. They seemed much more concerned about time on the job, debt to income ratios and OUTSTANDING collections. Past problems weren't really a concern as long as they were paid off. I had 5 years at the same employer and income over $150k so that helped. I did have a lot of past problems, chargeoffs, collections, student loand defaults, etc... but no current collections. They are most concerned with the last two years. It seems that just about anyone can qualify for some sort of mortgage if you have a job and can present a reasonable case for yourself.
I was turned down in 2000 - score were high 500's. I got my first mortgage in 2001 with 5% down and mid 600 scores and 6.85% rate ( I think ) I went through Scotia Bank for the loan. They pulled Eq only and did not really seem interested in it. They required present proof of income as well as my income tax assessments for the past 2 years. I have a home business and did not believe the income I was reporting so they wanted proof.
This has all been very enlightening so far.It seems that scores are important but if you can make it up in other ways such as having a good income/debt ratio etc lenders are willing to lend.
You can always go FHA. The house has to pass a FHA inspection(no biggie) but you only need 3% down. Of course the PMI is a little higher. They pull all 3 reports but scores do not count. You cannot have any unpaids and the last 12 months must be completely clean. Also, no foreclosures within the past 3 years. We just put a contract down. They have to pay 3.75% down for us and all closing and prepays. If they do not take it tough crap. The house has been there for 5 months and winter is coming.
