{"id":3076,"date":"2017-08-13T09:21:36","date_gmt":"2017-08-13T13:21:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/?p=3076"},"modified":"2022-12-13T10:26:43","modified_gmt":"2022-12-13T15:26:43","slug":"improving-home-buyer-credit-scores","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/2017\/08\/13\/improving-home-buyer-credit-scores\/","title":{"rendered":"Improving home buyer credit scores"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There\u2019s been a lot of anticipation about the new credit scoring model by VantageScore <\/a>(vantagescore.com).  It\u2019s supposed to increase the availability of credit to many consumers.  Launching this fall, VantageScore 4.0 is touted to be a more accurate scoring system that uses trending data instead of \u201csnapshots.\u201d  This credit scoring system is also supposed to help those with limited credit, and incorporates the improved credit reporting standards included in the National Consumer Assistance Plan.  This and other new scoring systems have a lot of promise, but will improving home buyer credit scores help the mortgage process?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s take a step back to see how home buyer credit scores reporting has evolved in recent years.  The National Consumer Assistance Plan<\/a> (nationalconsumerassistanceplan.com) was launched in 2015 as a result of an agreement<\/a> between the credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.  The agreement <\/a>stemmed from Schneiderman\u2019s investigation into the credit reporting agencies\u2019 practices including (but not limited to) the accuracy of collected data, the practices in handling consumer disputes, and the reporting of medical debt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The National Consumer Assistance Plan\u2019s focus is to improve the consumer\u2019s experience as well as increase data quality and accuracy.  Consumers will have increased information related to credit report disputes, including instructions on what to do if they\u2019re dissatisfied with the result of their dispute.   Additionally, there is an \u201cenhanced dispute resolution process\u201d for fraud victims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the many changes made by the National Consumer Assistance Plan to increase accuracy and quality of data includes: issuing consistent standards for those who report data to the credit agencies; medical debt won\u2019t be reported during a 180-day waiting period so as to allow for insurance payments to catch up with billing; and the elimination of reporting of debts that were not contractual (such as parking tickets).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From The National Consumer Assistance Plan<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consumers visiting www.annualcreditreport.com<\/a>, the website that allows consumers to obtain a free credit report once a year will see expanded educational material.<\/p>

Consumers who obtain their free annual credit report and dispute information resulting in modification of the disputed item will be able to obtain another free annual report without waiting a year.<\/p>

Consumers who dispute items on their credit reports will receive additional information from the credit reporting agencies along with the results of their dispute, including a description of what they can do if they are not satisfied with the outcome of their dispute.<\/p>

The credit reporting agencies (CRAs) are focusing on an enhanced dispute resolution process for victims of identity theft and fraud, as well as those who may have credit information belonging to another consumer on their file, commonly called a \u201cmixed file.\u201d<\/p>

Medical debts won\u2019t be reported until after a 180-day \u201cwaiting period\u201d to allow insurance payments to be applied. The CRAs will also remove from credit reports previously reported medical collections that have been or are being paid by insurance.<\/p>

Consistent standards will be reinforced by the credit bureaus to lenders and others that submit data for inclusion in a credit report (data furnishers).<\/p>

Data furnishers will be prohibited from reporting authorized users without a date of birth and the CRAs will reject data that does not comply with this requirement.<\/p>

The CRAs will eliminate the reporting of debts that did not arise from a contract or agreement by the consumer to pay, such as traffic tickets or fines.<\/p>

A multi-company working group of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies has been formed to regularly review and help ensure consistency and uniformity in the data submitted by data furnishers for inclusion in a consumer\u2019s credit report.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Recent credit reporting changes are sure to make an impact for home buyer credit scores.  But, you may still have impaired credit that would make it difficult for you to buy a home.  So how can you improve your home buying process<\/a>?  Be proactive!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A credit report<\/a> contains a lot of information about you.  It reveals your personal information, including where you\u2019ve lived and worked.  It indicates the credit cards and other loans you have, and how you pay on them.  It may also include any collection activity against you, as well as bankruptcies, liens or judgements.  Know what\u2019s being reported about you by obtaining your free annual credit report (annualcreditreport.com) and dispute discrepancies.  Successful disputes should improve your credit score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, if your home buyer credit scores are impaired as the result of poor habits, don\u2019t despair.  You can improve your credit report and score on your own by creating \u201cgood\u201d credit habits<\/a>.  First: make sure you pay your bills on time.  Planning specific times each month to pay bills will make it hard to miss a payment.  Second: reducing credit card balances may improve your credit score.  And third: be mindful of how many credit cards you maintain.  Having too many credit cards could lower your credit score.  Also, be careful to not apply for too much credit at any given time, as these \u201cinquiries\u201d could lower your score as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To learn more how a credit report functions, affects you, and how improve your home buyer credit scores, visit the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau<\/a> (consumerfinance.gov), the Federal Trade Commission<\/a> (ftc.gov), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation<\/a> (FDIC.gov).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Original published at https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/2017\/08\/13\/improving-home-buyer-credit-scores<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Dan Krell
Copyright\u00a9 2017<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Disclaimer<\/a>. This article is not intended to provide nor should it be relied upon for legal and financial advice. Readers should not rely solely on the information contained herein, as it does not purport to be comprehensive or render specific advice. Readers should consult with an attorney regarding local real estate laws and customs as they vary by state and jurisdiction. Using this article without permission is a violation of copyright laws.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s been a lot of anticipation about the new credit scoring model by VantageScore (vantagescore.com).  It\u2019s supposed to increase the availability of credit to many consumers.  Launching this fall, VantageScore 4.0 is touted to be a more accurate scoring system that uses trending data instead of \u201csnapshots.\u201d  This credit scoring system is also supposed to … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Improving home buyer credit scores”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[97,39,174,270,1012,405,55,13],"tags":[516,843,814,490,511,821,797],"class_list":["post-3076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-credit-report","category-first-time-home-buyer","category-first-time-homebuyer","category-home-buyer","category-home-buying","category-homebuyer","category-mortgage","category-real-estate","tag-buying-a-home","tag-credit-report","tag-first-time-home-buyer","tag-home-buyer-2","tag-home-buying-process","tag-mortgage","tag-real-estate"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1VZLf-NC","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3076"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3076\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6621,"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3076\/revisions\/6621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}