THE TOP 10 CREDIT DOS & DON’TS DURING THE LOAN PROCESS

Following are some helpful tips to avoid the credit mistakes that many borrowers make during the loan process:

1. Don’t change your credit. If you are thinking about doing something that may affect your credit such as closing a credit card account or applying for new credit, please contact me first.
   
   
2. Do stay current on existing accounts. Like your mortgage and car payments. One 30-day late can cost you anywhere from 30-75 points on your credit score.
   
   
3. Do continue to use your credit as normal. Red Flags are raised easily with the scoring system. If it appears that you are changing your pattern, it will raise a red flag, and your score could go down.
   
   
4. Do join a credit watch program. You can check your reports weekly, or even daily depending on the program you select.
   
   
5. Do call your loan officer if you receive something in the mail from a creditor or collection agency that you believe may affect your credit score during the loan process.
   
   
6. On New Construction, be careful with overages. When choosing items for your home, stay within a budget. Not all items count dollar for dollar when calculating the appraised value.
   

Keep in mind if your credit documents expire before your closing date, we will have to pull a new credit report and re-verify your information. Credit documents are good for 120 days on a standard loan and 180 days for new construction. If your credit scores have dropped, you may no longer qualify for the rate and program that was originally locked in and your final approval may come back with a higher-interest rate. If an issue comes up where you no longer qualify for a certain loan, the only things we can do is look at other options and rates that fit your qualifications. We will do everything we can to keep give you the best interest rate and program available,  but if your credit rating  has changed we may have to look at alternatives.