Real Estate Investing - Investment Articles Forum Tips Clubs

Second Credit Checks for Home Buyers: Effective Today (June 1, 2010)

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. With stricter regulations mandating a further credit probe before borrowers close their mortgage, real estate experts are advising prospective home shoppers to keep their financial situation static until the deal is finalized.

In light of the new regulation, we talked to a pool of mortgage brokers, who shared tips on dodging mortgage closing debacles and streamlining the 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.

New credit obligations, such as as credit cards, increases a borrower's debt-to-income ratio (the amount of debt including mortgages, car loans, student loans, credit cards versus overall income). Fannie Mae sets the maximum for the debt-to-income threshold at 45 percent of a borrower's gross monthly income. Breaking this cap --even after pre-approval--would result in a defunct loan.

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."

As another precaution given the nation's high unemployment rate, Stewart says it's becoming routine for lenders to get a verbal confirmation of a borrower's employment status on the day of the closing.

Tip No. 3: Read more...

Need to fix your Credit Score? More information here...

Share the wealth: