Tag Archives for " credit "

No Way I Will Be Declined

declined

You went under contract to purchase a property, and then started accumulating the supporting documents to obtain your mortgage.Well, guess what? Your steps should have been reversed! Here are some common excuses for those who figured getting a mortgage would be easy, but then discovered there would be some difficulties:

  • “XYZ Credit Co. said my FICO score was 665, which I knew would be good enough for me to qualify for a mortgage. Plus I could always add my spouse, who has an even higher score than me.” Unless you use https://annualcreditreport.com, or have a licensed mortgage broker or lender pull your tri-merge credit report, 90% of the time the score you receive from your source is likely to be 10-50 points higher than your true score. This could be enough to disqualify you from getting a mortgage. Also, the lender will use the lower score of the two – so your spouse can only help if you need to show additional income.
  • “I had a mortgage before, and I have never had trouble qualifying for a credit card or an auto loan.”Most lenders require that you have at least three (3) separate tradelines, one of which should have been in place for as many as 12 months – with an authorized amount of $1,000 or more. You also need to be the primary card holder, not just an “Authorized User”. And, if your prior mortgage has been repaid, that doesn’t count towards the minimum tradeline requirement.

Here’s the Point:Have your credit score pulled before you start making offers – and make sure it is a tri-merge report from all three credit bureaus.

Immigrant Lending: An Odd Discussion With A Banker

Immigrant Statue of Liberty“Mike, I’d like to refer you a typical immigrant client who doesn’t have a social security number and runs a ‘cash business’ – and I think you know what I mean”.

“No, actually, I don’t know what you mean.  Does their business generate a lot of cash earnings that they do not report to the IRS?”

“Well, I didn’t say that – but okay”.

“Sorry, I can’t help you – I don’t risk my reputation by recommending that my capital sources conduct business with someone who illegally evades taxes.  Moreover, I think it’s offensive to imply that immigrants typically operate cash businesses to evade taxes”.

“Well then what exactly do mortgage brokers do?”

Before quickly ending my conversation with the banker (for obvious reasons), I indicated that I would be happy to work with self-employed people who legally minimize their taxes with legitimate expense deductions.  Also, I would be happy to source mortgages for those who have not yet become U.S. citizens, do not have U.S. permanent residency, or even have not yet qualified for a social security number.

Surprised?!

As long as a “foreign national” or non-U.S. citizen can evidence an adequate two-year foreign or domestic credit history, there are capital sources who will gladly underwrite their mortgage.  In fact, it is a preferred business platform because statistics prove that these borrowers work hard to repay their debts – and tend to have solid liquidity and reserves.  One key issue is that all required documents written in a foreign language need professional translation.

Here’s the Point: Not having a social security number or green card doesn’t mean you can’t qualify for a mortgage – but you must be properly reporting your income.

Would You Lend Money to Donald or Hillary?

Trump and ClintonYou may have been conscientiously deliberating which candidate to vote for over the past several months. Your selection might become clearer if you contemplate this title question – as if you were a lender deciding whether to extend them a loan! Not voting is always an option, but not likely a decision that would sit well with you (even though reports suggest this option is seriously being considered by many voters).

When a client applies for a mortgage, the assignment is either accepted or declined – with concrete rationale behind either decision. But a lender electing to entirely avoid making the decision to either lend or not – may be compared to not voting. Imagine a lender choosing never to return your phone call to give you their credit decision. In this analogy, not voting (or not providing a credit decision) doesn’t help either candidate (or borrower) – nor would it likely help yourself.

There is no excuse for lender/voter unresponsiveness. Borrowers/candidates deserve prompt, reliable feedback which, from a lender’s perspective, is generally based on the following 5 “C’s” of credit:

  1. Credit History (Repayment History & Credit Score)
  2. Capacity (Ability to Repay & Earnings Stability)
  3. Capital (Down Payment & Liquidity)
  4. Collateral (Property Type & Value)
  5. Conditions (Loan Terms & Purpose)

The first one above was formerly entitled “Character” – which arguably is still the most important factor. But by telling a client their loan was declined because of “Character” (or lack thereof), the decision could be judged as discriminatory.

Here’s the Point: Don your lender’s cap and consider the key factors that would be used before advancing money to either candidate – and focus particularly on “character” before making your decision.

 

Condo Loan Craziness

Just because you have good credit, low debt-to-income ratios and a good size down payment, don’t think that qualifying for a purchase mortgage on a condominium will be a breeze. It may not be you that the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA) is concerned about. Since FNMA is the likely buyer of the mortgage advanced by your lender, they are fastidious about how the condo homeowners association (HOA) or property management company is managing the affairs of the building.

There are some rules you should know before making an offer:

  • If you intend the condo to be an investment property, over 50% of the units in the building must be owner-occupied.
    WHY? Owner Occupants look after their units and are less apt to default on their mortgages
  • If the building offers in-room housekeeping and concierge services, FNMA will assume the condo is operated as a hotel and your loan will be declined.
    WHY? Short-term rentals (daily/weekly/monthly) are prohibited – whether offered by the HOA or the unit owners (and if the latter, the HOA will need to police this use)

It is not easy for the HOA to monitor the number of rental units – in which case the appraiser will need to make what is often an unreliable estimate. If this estimate is high, it triggers a red flag in the eyes of the lender. Letters of explanation and verbal confirmations will be required, thereby causing substantial delays and increasing the odds that your loan may not close.

Here’s the Point: Need a loan to buy a condo unit? If the building offers short-term rentals, chances are you won’t get your loan.

 

Free Money at the Closing Table

Free?  I think not!  But there are definitely “lender credits” available to you, depending on the interest rate you select.  The technical term for this credit is “yield spread premium”.  But is the lender passing this credit on to you, or are they keeping it – and therefore booking additional profit from your loan?  This profit would be in addition to their processing fee, and results from the earnings spread they generate between what you pay them versus what it costs them to fund your loan.

The higher the interest rate you pay, the higher the credit to which you should be entitled – all of which can be applied towards offsetting your closing costs.  In arriving at this credit, the lender factors in certain standard risk adjustments that are based on variables such as your credit score, loan amount, collateral type, and loan-to-value ratio.  The lesson to be learned is that your lender should always fully disclose the amount of this credit – even if it is in the form of a reduced interest rate.

Recently I had a client who was able to increase his lender credit by simply taking a few steps to improve his credit score.  After following a program of credit card debt reduction, his FICO score increased from 599 to 642.  This favorably resulted in an increase to his lender credit of 1.25% of his loan amount – a savings of $2,500 which he was able to apply towards the closing costs on his $200,000 residential mortgage.

Here’s the Point: The next time you get an interest rate quote from a lender, be sure to ask them how you can increase the “credit” to which you may be entitled to apply against your closing costs.

 

Identity Theft: Curious Advice…

idtheftImagine some guy by the name of “Greg” using your name and social security number to borrow three private loans totaling $10,000. Wouldn’t you feel violated? You would also be furious if this showed up on your credit report only 5 days before your new mortgage is scheduled to close!

The fraudster is not about to make principal and interest payments on the scam loans. So your credit score will immediately deteriorate because of late payments, which you likely won’t even know about – unless you frequently check your credit scores.

This happened to a client of mine last week. His attorney recommended that he: (i) request a fraud alert be placed on his credit report, and (ii) commence making the required monthly payments on the fraudulent loans…

PARDON??!

Imagine making payments on a fraudulent loan – and then trying to prove later that your payments should be recouped? I don’t actually blame the lawyer – because he was simply trying to stop the fraudster, and help the borrower get a mortgage by maintaining a decent credit score. What was missing, however, was that a new conventional or FHA mortgage lender will require evidence that an act of fraud had been committed – which will include the filing of a police report. The omission of or delay in filing this report gives the appearance of “hiding” the identity theft. It is very important to demonstrate to the lender that all the right steps have been taken to address the problem as quickly as possible.

Here’s the Point: You can’t hide identity theft when you apply for a mortgage. Promptly have the credit bureaus put a fraud alert on your credit report so that no further borrowing can take place without your approval.

 

Refinancing? The Grass Isn’t Always Greener

grassMy client made the right decision last week. He decided not to refinance his mortgage – even though:
(i) he qualified for a better interest rate (because his credit score had improved),
(ii) the value of his primary residence was way up, and
(iii) he could have used some of the equity in his home to consolidate debt.

His credit score was 650 – lower than what he had hoped for, mainly because of some unavoidable late payments a while back. Keeping his loan-to-value ratio at 80% (to avoid mortgage insurance premiums), he was surprised to discover that, with his credit score, he would still be assessed 3.0% of the loan amount at closing. In addition, because he was looking to pull out some equity (i.e., obtain a new loan greater than his existing loan amount), the “cash-out refinance adjustment” would have been another 2.625%. Along with a couple of other incidental adjustments for loan size and overall risk profile, the cumulative risk adjustments would have been 5.85% of his requested loan amount – or $5,850 on a $100,000 loan.

Sure – I found a lender who would offset all of these costs. The problem was his interest rate would be no different than the rate he already had on his existing loan. Also, his principal amortization schedule would reset upon the commencement of his new 30-year mortgage. Therefore, the portion of his new monthly mortgage payment attributed to principal reduction would be less than what his principal payment was under his existing loan.

Here’s the Point: Make sure to understand all of the “risk adjustments” (costs) that lenders assess before you refinance your mortgage – because you might be surprised.

 

Christmas Without a Mortgage

My lender declined my client’s mortgage today, four days before Christmas. His existing loan expires on December 31, and this was his last chance to refinance before the lender could commence foreclosure proceedings.

This 70-year old gentleman has no late payments on his credit report. However, a credit card company entered a judgment against him six years ago, and conventional lenders require this to be removed before extending new credit. Unfortunately, he lacks the liquidity to eliminate the judgment, and his age has been an obstacle to finding a job to augment his social security income. Although the private lender liked his story, they would not accept a Debt-To-Income (DTI) ratio over 50%.

Many people rent the other side of their duplex – but the key issue is whether the lender will classify the rent as “boarder” income (100% of which may be used for qualification purposes) or “investment” income (only 75% of which is allowable – to factor in the potential loss of the tenant). The boarder income argument was valid because the building has only one tax parcel number and is still technically his primary residence. But the Underwriter disagreed, and the resulting lower income caused his DTI ratio to exceed the maximum threshold.

In the end, the proposed structure was declined at a lousy time of year. Fortunately, the lender agreed to approve a lower loan amount – and at a better interest rate. My client also has the ability to raise rent, which the tenant knows is below market.

 

Here’s the Point: A loan may be declined as presented, but it should be incumbent on every lender to offer at least one alternative structure which would allow the loan to work.

 

Excuse Me? Who are the “Entitled” Ones?

There are lots of articles written about Millennials – you’ve read them (e.g., the notion that they are lazy, filled with too much self-regard, have unrealistic monetary expectations, etc.). The ages of Millennials varies depending on the author, but seems to focus on the era between 1982 and 2004 – or, said another way, their average age today is about 22.

http://msbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Millennials.png
What does this have to do with mortgages you ask?!

For all the perceived negatives, these “kids” (I can call them that because they are younger than my children) are the most adaptable and cooperative of all my clients. EVERYONE (note the emphasis) must open their books to get a mortgage done today – regardless of age or socioeconomic status.  This is mainly thanks to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB), which significantly tightened the regulations for mortgage qualification purposes after the 2007 U.S. Housing Crisis. Sure, I complain about the paperwork all the time, but welcome to the new reality – which, by the way, is here to stay.

For the most part, I don’t have a problem with the requirements – and I deal with them every day.  Consumers get more sensible mortgages and banks have stronger balance sheets to return dividends.  From my experience, the people who have the biggest problem with regulations are the affluent Baby Boomers (1946-1964).  Is it because many of them have never had a mortgage?  Regardless, they have the perceived notion that: The higher the net worth, the less paperwork that should be required.  Wrong.

Here’s the Point: No one is “entitled” when it comes to providing paperwork for obtaining a mortgage – and that is exactly the way it should work in the marketplace.

 

Rent: Still Paying Cash?

If you need a mortgage, but you do not have established credit – i.e., at least two active credit cards or a car loan/lease, then all you can do is demonstrate that you are honoring your rent obligations. Sign a lease, pay rent via check each month, and retain your bank statements and cancelled rent checks for at least 12 months. Without these items, you better have a good relationship with your landlord – because you’ll need a letter confirming you consistently pay rent on time.

Here are some statements which will fall on deaf ears at the bank:

“I’m sharing an apartment with a friend and I pay him cash for my share. He then sends the full amount of rent by check to the landlord on time every month.”

⇒That’s nice, but you need to show consistent cash withdrawals from your bank account every month in the exact amount of your share.

“I live at my daughter’s place and I cook, clean, and I timely pay for most utilities every month. And lately I have covered all of the capital improvement and repair costs.”

⇒That’s nice, but you need consistent outflow of your contributions, and to show that the utility receipts match the corresponding withdrawals from your bank account.

“I’m renting from my aunt. She trusts me so there has been little point in drawing up a lease contract.”

⇒That’s nice, but without a contract you can neither demonstrate that you have any obligations nor lived up to them!

Here’s the Point: To obtain a mortgage without established credit lines, the lender will require at least 12 months of cancelled rent checks and/or a landlord “Verification of Rent” letter.

 

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