When applying for a mortgage, the first thing that the lender will do is pull your credit report to help determine whether or not you are a viable candidate for a new home purchase or a refinance. Your credit report tells a lot about you and your finances, and is an invaluable tool to help determine your interest rate as well. However, after all of the recent data breaches, many people have put credit freezes on their accounts, which prevent us from accessing your credit report and slows down the process of approving your mortgage. Don’t let a credit freeze mess up your mortgage.
What is a credit freeze, and when is a credit freeze a good idea?
A credit freeze is exactly what it sounds like. It basically stops your credit from being accessed and keeps people who have your information from opening new accounts in your name. People with your Social Security Number can open up credit cards and run up debt that can seriously affect your credit rating and cost hundreds or thousands of dollars to fix. If you have been hacked, or your information is out there from another company’s systems being intruded upon, you should consider a credit freeze to protect yourself from the harm that can come when an unscrupulous scammer gets a hold of your information.
When applying for a mortgage during a credit freeze, you will need to contact all three major credit bureaus.
- Equifax: Call 800-349-9960 or go online
- Experian: Call 888‑397‑3742 or go online
- TransUnion: Call 888-909-8872 or go online
They are the only ones that can freeze your credit, lift the freeze, or allow the “thawing” of your credit for certain agencies such as mortgage companies or car dealers. If you want to make a major purchase, you will have to do this beforehand. The cost to freeze and unfreeze is typically around $20, but can be more or less, depending on your state.
You should also get into the habit of checking your credit. You can request a free credit report from each of the three credit bureaus once a year at www.annualcreditreport.com. This is a valuable tool to help determine if you have fraudulent or incorrect information on your account.
Call The Home Loan Expert Team at 800-991-6494. You can always apply online for your VA Loan, and www.thehomeloanexpert.com for your other mortgage needs, and will come to you to help close your loan. We work hard to make it easy on you. Nobody gets lower rates on better loans than The Home Loan Expert, Ryan Kelley, why go anywhere else?
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