Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Fannie Mae Requires Pre-Closing Credit Checks

Home applicants must freeze credit activity or face scrutiny when they go to close on new home purchase loans.  These Gap reports will raise the cost of consumer credit, while ultimately not affecting consumers' need to increase credit lines after home buying.  Traditionally, housing is the driver of American consumer activity, with new homes requiring furnishings, appliances and general improvements in re-sales of existing homes.

Second Credit Checks For Home Buyers: Be Prepared


Megan Mollman, HousingWatch Contributor


 (excerpted below)

Starting June 1, Fannie Mae has a new rule going into effect which requires the lender to check for additional lines of credit, such as a new credit card or a car lease, that a borrower may have obtained that have not been reflected on the credit report over the course of the loan process. 


Tip No. 1: Get the house before the car 

Across the board, mortgage brokers say that opening new lines of credit is the easiest thing to trigger the lender's attention, especially with the news of Fannie Mae's mandate. For example, this means opening up a store card at Lowe's to get a head start on buying some new appliances or paint or leasing a car to have something shiny to park in your new garage. 
Grant Stern, president of Morningside Mortgage Corporation in Miami, Fla., believes car loans are "the No. 1 culprit" in lenders turning down a prospective buyer's home loan. "We always tell people as mortgage brokers, 'Get the house first, then they will give you the car," he says.
Tip No. 2: Don't switch professions (or tax brackets)


Brokers say its not earth-shattering to change jobs in the same field, especially if you are making more money at the new place of employment, but it's complicated when a professional is moving job classifications, for instance, from employed to self-employed, or from a salaried-position to a commission job. "Moving from an employee to a contract basis is a dagger," says Stern, as two years of federal tax returns need to be included with a loan application. "[In this case], it could take three years to get approved for a mortgage."

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