Consumers Helping Consumers

Only Two Credit Reports Ordered, Causing Lots of Problems
G.L., Management Consultant, Indiana

My letter involves the home loan process. In the end, I was able to get a good loan with what I think to be a good, competitive interest rate. However, the process was not as smooth as it could have been, and I attribute this to the laziness or the cheapness of the mortgage broker.

I met with the mortgage broker originally to discuss the types of loans available to me, and those that would fit my needs best. She ordered my credit reports, or however that is done, and reviewed them. She said everything looked fine, did a bunch of calculations, and showed how much I could afford to borrow based on lender limits etc. She had me review some paperwork that seemed to summarize all of my debts, and everything looked fine.

But the mortgage broker only ordered two of my credit reports, and my understanding now is that there are three credit reports from three credit bureaus. Well, whichever one she neglected to order had a balance from a credit card that I use for business expenses, while the others did not have that balance. I had charged up quite a lot of expenses traveling for my company in the last month or so, and the balance was extremely high. Even though I would be reimbursed from my company, apparently, these expenses still count toward my total debt payments.

What this meant was I couldn't qualify for a loan as high as I she had originally told me. It also meant a lot of last minute scrambling because the lender apparently thought that I may have been trying to hide something. The whole process became a big headache and source of confusion at the last minute. I mean, isn't this the kind of thing the mortgage broker is paid to do? I'm not sure why she only ordered my credit report from two bureaus instead of three. Maybe she was trying to save herself $5 or something stupid like that. It cost me excessive headaches.

Equal Home Finance Bureau Comment: In our "2002 Report on Saving Thousands Getting Your Home Loan" we discuss the facts and issues of credit reports and their importance on your time and overall cost of a home loan. One thing a consumer can do is arm yourself with as much information about your credit long before you meet with a mortgage broker. Mortgage brokers vary greatly in experience and ability, and there seem to be more bad ones than good ones. Certainly, she should have saved everyone a lot of problems by spending the extra money to pull all three credit bureau reports for you.

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