Tag Archive for: credit

Expect Higher Rates In The Near Term; Two Huge Takeaways

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I predicted mid to low 5% mortgage rates later this year several times in blogs and talks – but I did not expect three things: Ukraine to get so good at attacking Russian oil facilities. The Iran war, and its continuance. And Too fast of an increase in the money supply. As recently as two weeks ago, I discussed energy analyst Doomberg’s reminder that oil producers always overproduce in response to high oil prices, which always results in gluts later on. Doomberg predicts that oil will drop to as low as $30 per barrel (from $105 today). But that could take several years to play out. High oil prices push up all other prices, sparking the inflation concerns that have been pushing rates way up since the Iran war started. Iran’s resistance and Trump’s escalatory language pushed oil prices up to a new high today, and rates are up again as a result.Read More

“I Make $30,000 Per Month, But My Credit Score’s 560; Can I Get A Mortgage?”

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There are companies in college towns that make their money by renting apartments to college kids and keeping their security deposits when the kids move out – no matter what. It is an incredibly slimy practice because the firms prey on the kids who can least afford to absorb the expense or fight back. Sidebar: This happened when I was in college, but unfortunately for the apartment complex owner, one of the victims’ fathers was a high-powered class-action attorney in LA. Needless to say, he formed a “class of aggrieved former tenants,” and he ended up owning the entire 400-unit complex. Sometimes, trial lawyers are a good thing. I am sharing the story about the slimy apartment owners because we once had a borrower with collections from one of them on his credit report. The firm not only kept his deposit, but they hit him with additional charges for utter nonsense, and the borrower refused to pay on principle. The slimy firm promptly reported the collections, and the borrower’s credit score fell below 600. The borrower was able to get a loan, but he had to write a very strong letter of explanation and still had to pay off the collections – as painful as it was (he could have litigated, too, but that would have been more expensive).Read More

When You Should Drop Your Husband; Part II

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I am repeating this blog from several years ago because I forgot to include a MAJOR reason to drop your husband. The following text from an agent prompted my original blog, as it made for great blog fodder. “I received an offer on a property and it’s ‘wife only,’ stating ‘husband is starting a business and that’s why he isn’t on the loan.’ I didn’t just fall off the turnip truck. Does this mean the husband has bad credit and they are trying to qualify with just her, and is that an issue?”Read More

10 Important Appraisal Considerations Every Agent Should Know

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We’re seeing more low appraisals than in the past - primarily because markets are softer and appraisers are reluctant to push values to the top of the comp range. Agents should prepare their clients – unless the comparable sales are particularly strong.Read More

Trigger Lead Legislation – Why Everyone Should Rejoice!

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The Vikings notoriously captured slaves and forced them to row their longboats or warships. And if the slaves did not row hard enough, they were whipped and beaten (sometimes to death). The Greeks and Romans did the same thing, reminding us all that being a slave on a warship was probably not a good career choice.Read More

I Can’t Believe My Client Has $1 Million In The Bank And Can’t Get A Loan!

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Our Team Manager, Madeline Malinovsky, was covering for JVM over the weekend, and apparently, she’s way too smooth on the phone, as she was accused of being AI by several borrowers. This is a reminder of two things: (1) we are open every weekend to help agents and borrowers alike;  and (2) we’re actual humans, and not AI.Read More

BEWARE of 11th Hour Fraud/Credit/Employment Check

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Today’s blog is about one of the biggest and costliest mistakes we see buyers make, which kills deals and sometimes puts very large earnest money deposits at risk. Borrowers mistakenly believe that once their loan is fully underwritten, with all conditions satisfied or easily satisfiable - they can stop worrying altogether about making sure they remain qualified for the remaining few days or weeks until their loan closes.Read More

Hard Credit Pulls, Soft Credit Pulls – Do We Need to Care?

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Given that it was about 25 years before credit scores were widely used, I’ve always thought it was remarkably prescient – because most borrowers care far too much about credit pulls and the impact on their scores.Read More

Don’t Pay Off Credit Cards, Please! 3 Things The Fed Looks At

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The Fed looks at three things when deciding to cut rates: Inflation. CPI came in cooler than expected today, despite tariffs, so that bodes well for rate cuts. Note: many people on X insist tariffs are deflationary because they destroy/reduce demand. Labor Market. Powell believes the labor market is holding strong but many analysts believe it is getting much weaker, as per this post by Danielle DiMartino Booth How Much They Dislike The President. 😊 This factor does not bode well for rate cuts.Read More

12 Essential Facts About Credit Repair

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Learn 12 essential facts about credit repair, including costs, timelines, lender policies, and how it can improve credit scores and lower interest rates.Read More

Do You Need A Credit Score To Get A Good Mortgage? What About New Jobs? Newly Self Employed?

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We sometimes get stellar borrowers who have no credit scores for a variety of reasons. They might be “Dave Ramsey followers” who believe in no debt, they might be very young, or they might be from another country, so they have no U.S. credit established.Read More

Too Much Caution Over Credit Inquiries; Soft Pulls Are Not The Answer

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A hard credit pull or inquiry is when a lender checks a borrower’s credit in response to an application for additional credit. A soft pull is when an entity just wants to see someone’s credit standing for some other reason – other than a credit application. A background check is a great example.Read More

Credit Inquiries – Way Too Much Concern

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On Friday, I blogged about the difference between consumer credit scores and mortgage credit scores: Does Credit Karma Lie To You? In that blog I pointed out why we need […]Read More

Understanding Your Credit Score And How To Improve It

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There are many components to your individual financial profile that lenders assess when examining a mortgage application. One of the most important is your credit score. A question for many first-time homebuyers is, what is a good credit score? And how can you improve it?Read More