It’s not easy, but it can be done. Credit bureaus are legally required to investigate disputed information by contacting the creditor that originally supplied them with the information. The three major credit bureaus usually have the same information for each consumer file — but not always. You need only contact the bureau that actually shows an error.

Factual information cannot be removed from a credit report, and the credit bureaus will not automatically remove information from your reports just because you dispute it. You have to prove that information is wrong with supporting documentation before a credit bureau will correct a report. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), a credit bureau must within 30 days remove or modify a disputed item if it is found to be inaccurate, incomplete or cannot be verified after a reasonable investigation.

Contact information for the three major U.S. credit bureaus:

* W.J. Bradley is not a credit counseling or financial advisement firm and this information is for educational purposes only and is not to be taken as guidelines or guarantees to improve your credit or financial situation or eligibility to secure a home loan.

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For many new homebuyers, the terms pre-qualification and pre-approval seem interchangeable. But they are not — and the distinction is an important one.

When you get pre-qualified, I perform a quick check to determine generally how large a home loan you can afford. Essentially, when a buyer is pre-qualified, the lender is saying it would most likely approve the buyer for “x” amount.

In order to get pre-qualified, you’ll need to provide me with some basic information on gross monthly income, other reliable reoccurring income, the balances and payments on current debts, and how much money has been saved for a down payment. Qualifying ratios are applied to those figures to determine what percentage of your gross monthly income can be used to pay for the home loan and attached expenses.

Pre-approval goes much deeper. In order to issue a pre-approval, I need to examine and verify your debt, income, savings, assets and credit report to ensure you can repay the loan amount. Where pre-qualification is a sort of educated guesstimate of the buyer’s purchasing power, pre-approval says the prospective lender would definitely be approved for the loan.

This is particularly useful when home shopping for multiple reasons. To begin with, pre-approval instantly lets you know what your actual budget is. When you begin home shopping, knowing what you can afford from the outset will help you and your real estate agent better focus your efforts to find the best home for your money. It sets the scope of your home-buying strategy.

Once you find a home within your budget that you like, being pre-approved provides you with an advantageous position over other buyers, because pre-approval assures the seller that you have access to the loan necessary to back your offer. I will provide you with a letter or certificate demonstrating that you are pre-approved for a certain amount of money, which you can provide as part of your offer.

Would you, a relative or a friend like to learn more, or get pre-qualified or pre-approved for a home loan at no cost? Please contact me and I will be happy to help you!

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Credit scores are often used in determining prices for auto and homeowners insurance. Employers have also begun using the scores as part of background checks when making hiring decisions.

The practice of using credit scores in nontraditional ways is expanding. It’s more important than ever to educate yourself about credit. If you have more questions, I can help you find local resources to provide you with credit counseling and more in-depth information.

Check your credit score at least once a year. Correct any errors and take steps to improve your credit. Maintaining a healthy credit score will smooth the way for you to achieve many of your future goals.

* W.J. Bradley is not a credit counseling or financial advisement firm and this information is for educational purposes only and is not to be taken as guidelines or guarantees to improve your credit or financial situation or eligibility to secure a home loan.

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You should get a complete picture of your overall financial health before you go out to make a big purchase that requires you to apply for credit or a loan. Your score will impact the interest rate you are offered, so knowing your score will give you a sense of what you may qualify for. The best way to gain a clear picture of your financial health is through a tri-bureau credit report.

The tri-bureau credit report gives you a score from each of the three major credit reporting agencies on one report. Lenders sometimes take an average of your three scores, or may even use the lowest score, to make their lending decision.
A combined report gives you a complete credit profile — saving you time and money so that you don’t have to check each of the major reporting agencies separately. You can go to any of the major credit bureau websites for your combined report: TransUnion, Equifax or Experian.

You are eligible for one free credit report per year. Take advantage of this opportunity to monitor your credit report and ensure there are no mistakes or surprises with your credit.

* W.J. Bradley is not a credit counseling or financial advisement firm and this information is for educational purposes only and is not to be taken as guidelines or guarantees to improve your credit or financial situation or eligibility to secure a home loan.

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The score is a number between 300 and 850 that is used to determine your creditworthiness — that is, to predict how likely you are to pay your bills. Many of the companies with whom you have a loan or a line of credit report back to the three credit bureaus information such as whether you pay on time, your credit amount, etc. Your credit score is calculated from this personal financial information found in your credit report.

The higher your credit score, the better the credit terms you will receive. The lower your score, the higher the interest rates you may have to pay when you are extended credit. Generally, scores over 700 are considered excellent while scores below 600 are considered poor. W.J. Bradley requires a minimum 620 score for nearly all our programs, but we can talk about that when meet in person.

Each of the three major credit bureaus issues their own scores based on their own proprietary calculations. The Fair Isaac Corporation also has a credit rating scale called a FICO score. FICO scores are most widely used by banks and other issuers of credit to determine lending terms, and it’s what we use at WJB to determine your credit score.

The credit bureaus use the following factors to determine your score. Each factor is weighted differently and affects your score to a different degree:

* W.J. Bradley is not a credit counseling or financial advisement firm and this information is for educational purposes only and is not to be taken as guidelines or guarantees to improve your credit or financial situation or eligibility to secure a home loan.

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Short sales offer not just a lifeline to homeowners in over their heads, but an opportunity for homebuyers seeking an amazing deal. Better yet, thanks to new regulations, the once lengthy process has recently become considerably more streamlined.

In a short sale, a homeowner that cannot afford to pay the mortgage and the lender that loaned them the money enter into an agreement in which the home will be sold for less than the balance of the loan. This is generally because the homeowner has incurred a financial hardship — such as unemployment, an unforeseen medical expense or divorce — that is going to make it impossible to continue paying the loan.
So, the homeowner and the lender enter a short sale agreement as a win-win, and the buyer makes that a triple win. For the seller, a short sale enables them to start rebuilding their credit rating sooner than a foreclosure would allow. For the lender, a short sale lets them sidestep the often-sizable costs that they must bear in a foreclosure. And, of course, for the buyer, they benefit with a price often below market value.

However, short sales differ from standard real estate transactions. Buyers should understand the elements of a short sale so that they know what to expect and how to work with the seller. Cooperation is key between all parties in the short sale: the seller, the lender and the buyer, so you want to know the ins and outs.

Short Sale Process

A short sale involves an agreement between a lender and a borrower to sell the home for a price below the loan amount. Every lender has its process for a short sale, and it also has its own criteria for approving a short sale agreement.

The initial stages of a short sale will seem very much like a regular real estate process. You will want to get pre-approved for your loan, work with a real estate agent to find the short sale opportunities in your area, view the properties, research the ones you like, and begin negotiating with the sellers. But at a certain point, the lender will need to be brought into the process to approve the short sale terms. In other words, not only is the seller negotiating with you, but he or she must then negotiate with his or her lender to get its blessing on the deal.

Because of that negotiation with the lender, the seller will work with a real estate agent that is qualified to work on his or her behalf. The seller’s agent often holds a short sales certification from the National Association of REALTORS®. This agent will be an expert in shaping the agreement with the seller’s lender, and his or her expertise will help ensure that both the seller and you succeed in making a deal that the lender will be happy with and approve.

The short sale process used to be lengthy, and could go on for many months, while ultimately ending in disappointment. Thanks to new rules that recently went into effect under the Department of Treasury’s Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA), the process has become more streamlined, which works to everyone’s advantage.

Previously, the lender could take months to review and consider offers put in by potential homebuyers. Under HAFA, sellers are now required to respond to a bid within 10 days. However, be warned that lenders will generally counteroffer your bid, which will stretch out the approval process. They can also take their time when accepting the final offer and completing the paperwork, which means a short sale can still take months to complete. When you consider the great deal you’re getting, though, that extra time may be well worth it.

Sometimes a property may be listed as an approved short sale on the MLS. This means the lender has agreed to a selling price that is lower that the balance of the loan. In general, the approved short sale price is non-negotiable; however, you can reasonably expect an approved short sale to move faster than the other type of short sale.

As you can see, the short sale process offers homebuyers a tremendous opportunity to get into a good property at a bargain price. Better yet, HAFA has eased the process considerably and streamlined an ordeal that previously took up to a year into a realistic process for all parties concerned.

If you or any of your friends or family are looking to find out more about the short sale process, I’d be happy to provide you with more information, as well as put you in contact with a real estate agent that can help you explore the short sales opportunities in your area. With home prices and interest rates still low, now is a great time to consider buying a new home. You may be able to afford a bigger home than you thought possible.

Contact me today to learn more.

© 2011 W.J. Bradley Mortgage Capital Corp., 201 Columbine Street Suite 300, Denver, CO 80206. Phone #303-825-5670. NMLS ID 3233. Trade/service marks are the property of W.J. Bradley Mortgage Capital Corp. This is not a commitment to lend. Restrictions apply. All rights reserved. Some products may not be available in all states.

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Property type: Two-bedroom, two bath in Burlingame

Appraised value: $480,000

Loan amount: $369,000

Loan type: 30yr fixed

Rate: 4.5%

Back story:

This one, while ending with happy clients, was a lesson in working with the right professionals to get the job done. This client and their realtor had troubles with their appraiser and actually had to have a few different discussions with them to get them to reconsider comps in the area in the overall home value. Being sure that your Realtor, Mortgage Lender, Appraiser, Insurance Agent, and every other person involved in the process is on top of their job and able to troubleshoot situations is so important!

And, as always, it closed in less than 30 days!

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Property type: Four-bedroom, two bath in Stinson Beach

Appraised value: $795,000

Loan amount: $270,000

Loan type: 30yr fixed

Rate: 4.5%

Back story:

This client was working on a fixed income and had many loans and investments. They needed to refinance to get cash out to put in a new septic system on their home and consolidate some of their consumer debt. We were able to do both and increase their cash flow by $450/mo.!

And, as always, it closed in less than 30 days!

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The first person on my team is Jerry Hsiang and we have been working together for almost 5 years now. We started working together at Citibank, briefly moved to Chase, and are now here at W.J. Bradley. He is my right hand and does a lot of client interaction covering the details of processing and underwriting.

Then there is Clare Nishikawa who is my processor and we’ve been working together for about six months now. She is extremely attentive to detail and makes sure our clients stay fully up-to-date with what is happening on their loans.

Our underwriters are thorough and by-the-book, but are always looking for ways to approve clients, where at other companies I’ve seen underwriters trying to find any reason not to approve a client!

And lastly, there’s Renee Pelton, who handles my marketing and online communications and we’ve been working together for almost a year now. She keeps the website current, helps with social media, and makes sure that the blog is kept up-to-date with useful information.

All together my team and I bring together the skill, knowledge, and experience to make sure your financing needs are met, your expectations exceeded and the process happens smoothly and efficiently!

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Property type: Four-bedroom, two and a half bath in Redwood City

Appraised value: $900,000

Loan amount: $720,000

Loan type: 30yr fixed

Rate: 4.75%

Back story:

This client found the house of their dreams after my referral to a Realtor that I often work with! They knew nothing about the area but they not only found a home, but we were able to pay off their student loans and free up some cash flow to meet the debt/income guidelines to get them the home! It was still 20% down but we were able to increase their cashflow dramatically.

And, as always, it closed in less than 30 days!

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