Under Federal law, you have the right to receive a copy of your credit report from each of the 3 credit bureaus, every 12 months. The long way to go about getting those is by contacting each of the bureaus individually and going through the various request processes.
Another, highly advertised way is to use the service provided by www.freecreditreport.com (baby). When you use their service to order your credit report, you are signing up for their credit report monitoring services and will be charged the going rate (currently $14.95 a month). You do have a trial/cancellation period so be sure to cancel in time if it is not your intention to utilize their ongoing services.
The most convenient way to truly get your free, no obligation, 3 bureau report is to go to www.annualcreditreport.com.
Give it a try and stay in the know about your credit.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Moving with Tight Timelines
Had another great question today; We are buying a home and the scheduled closing date is the 30th. We also have to be completely out of our apartment that day. We know there are some potential complications with our purchase, what can we do?
It is not uncommon to get into these tight closings time lines, especially when there are special circumstances such as unique mortgage programs involved, short sale, foreclosure, out of state seller etc. Not to be an alarmist but if anything doesn’t go just right, it can slip the timeline.
Some things I recommend when you know the timeline is tight… make sure your work schedule is flexible so that as soon as your loan docs are at escrow and ready to sign, you can head right over. Since the documents have to be transmitted back to your bank for a review after you sign, every hour can make a difference. Communicate with your loan officer to see if they anticipate the mortgage company making any last minute requests of you or of anyone that you can help expedite. Example; if the mortgage company has a policy of contacting HR departments right before issuing documents to confirm your employment is unchanged, you can help make sure they have the right contact info and then from your side, maybe give HR a heads up to be watching for that. If HR lets a voicemail sit from a Friday afternoon to mid-morning Monday, that can be enough to cause a delayed closing.
Logistically, be as organized and prepared as possible and have a backup plan. If you have to be out of your current place on a certain day, have a contingency plan in place just in case (have all your stuff in a moving van that you could rent for an extra day or so if it became necessary) and know who’s couch you would crash on in an emergency. Consider contacting the utility companies for your new place in advance to arrange transfer of utilities for the scheduled closing date. Best to try to do this before current homeowner completes the disconnection of service because there are often reconnect fees and delays involved after disconnects. So a transfer of utilities (even if you end up paying a day or two that you didn’t own the house due to a late close) is often cheaper than setup/reconnect fees.
Lastly, make a proactive effort to stay cool and calm. Keep in mind your best stress management mechanisms. Moving can be extremely stressful when time lines are down to the wire. If chocolate or wine helps, have some nearby! Whatever it takes…
Also know that sometimes escrow and lenders do their best work in a crunch so making things happen at the last second is not out of the question. Though your real estate agent has no control at this point in the game, they are usually great at managing communication between all parties and helping problem solve as things come up.
It is not uncommon to get into these tight closings time lines, especially when there are special circumstances such as unique mortgage programs involved, short sale, foreclosure, out of state seller etc. Not to be an alarmist but if anything doesn’t go just right, it can slip the timeline.
Some things I recommend when you know the timeline is tight… make sure your work schedule is flexible so that as soon as your loan docs are at escrow and ready to sign, you can head right over. Since the documents have to be transmitted back to your bank for a review after you sign, every hour can make a difference. Communicate with your loan officer to see if they anticipate the mortgage company making any last minute requests of you or of anyone that you can help expedite. Example; if the mortgage company has a policy of contacting HR departments right before issuing documents to confirm your employment is unchanged, you can help make sure they have the right contact info and then from your side, maybe give HR a heads up to be watching for that. If HR lets a voicemail sit from a Friday afternoon to mid-morning Monday, that can be enough to cause a delayed closing.
Logistically, be as organized and prepared as possible and have a backup plan. If you have to be out of your current place on a certain day, have a contingency plan in place just in case (have all your stuff in a moving van that you could rent for an extra day or so if it became necessary) and know who’s couch you would crash on in an emergency. Consider contacting the utility companies for your new place in advance to arrange transfer of utilities for the scheduled closing date. Best to try to do this before current homeowner completes the disconnection of service because there are often reconnect fees and delays involved after disconnects. So a transfer of utilities (even if you end up paying a day or two that you didn’t own the house due to a late close) is often cheaper than setup/reconnect fees.
Lastly, make a proactive effort to stay cool and calm. Keep in mind your best stress management mechanisms. Moving can be extremely stressful when time lines are down to the wire. If chocolate or wine helps, have some nearby! Whatever it takes…
Also know that sometimes escrow and lenders do their best work in a crunch so making things happen at the last second is not out of the question. Though your real estate agent has no control at this point in the game, they are usually great at managing communication between all parties and helping problem solve as things come up.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Mortgage in Default & Looking to Refinance?
I fielded a question today that I know is on a lot of people's mind. The question was, we're behind on our mortgage payments and received a notice of default. Any chance we can refinance into an affordable and fixed mortgage?
All is NOT lost!
If the homeowner would like to keep their home (and has at least some steady income), they need to contact their mortgage company ASAP and apply for a mortgage "modification". A typical, credit based refinance is unlikely due to the recent delinquencies. However, the current mortgage company would way rather offer a modification to their customer than proceed with an expensive foreclosure on the home. When contacting the bank for a "mod", be sure to have the following information handy;
The most common mistakes I see are;
All is NOT lost!
If the homeowner would like to keep their home (and has at least some steady income), they need to contact their mortgage company ASAP and apply for a mortgage "modification". A typical, credit based refinance is unlikely due to the recent delinquencies. However, the current mortgage company would way rather offer a modification to their customer than proceed with an expensive foreclosure on the home. When contacting the bank for a "mod", be sure to have the following information handy;
- Current household income (typically they want to know they "net" or "take home" but clarify which numbers they want).
- Current household expenses including food, gas for the cars, utilities, clothing, other credit obligations; everything!
- The hardship - be ready to give them a couple of sentences that encapsulate what caused the problem and whether or not the problem still exists. IE; unemployed for 6 months but now employed again at 80% of your old salary. Be prepared to put your hardship info into a letter that is a little more explanatory
- Be prepared to submit via fax or mail things like pay stubs, banks statements, W-2's and a financial worksheet (a list of all your bills subtracted from your take home pay)
The most common mistakes I see are;
- Moving out too soon
- Moving out and doing nothing else (forcing the bank to full legal foreclosure instead of allowing/facilitating a voluntary sale or transfer of the property)
There are lots of programs out there right now to help with situations like these and I've worked with quite a few homeowners to successfully resolve issues in whatever way meets their situation the best. To privately ask more questions, don't hesitate to write; rebecca@myplacetocallhome.com
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