This house-buying stuff is a roller coaster ride:
- Imagining a fun new creative project is a high.
- Taking a big financial step is exciting (fun and scary.)
- Deciding to take the plunge and "go for it" is exhilarating.
But I must say that the mortgage/credit approval process is making me really cranky.
I've already filled out the immense paperwork, and have been approved...but I don't like the rate. It's way too high. In fact, it pushes my overhead up to where I might just walk away altogether. I don't want to, but I've thought about it.
In the process, I've learned a lot. And it's the kind of thing you need to know too. And please don't wait until you *need* a loan. The wheels of credit bureaus and lenders move s-l-o-w-l-y.
I have good credit. Really really good credit, the kind that I worked very hard for (after paying off debts incurred in my 20's.) Some of the credit agencies will verify this. But I learned that mortgage companies will base your interest rate on the credit bureau that gives you the lowest score. And in my case, that company has a bunch of errors in my file.
Some of it probably due to the fact that they didn't update my name when I got married in 2003. My file is missing stuff. And to complicate matters, the report they gave the mortgage company is different than the one they gave me. Everyone assures me this isn't possible, but the reports are in fact different. And even though the other credit bureaus rate me highly, the lenders want to use this error-riddled one. It's a big mess.
This credit bureau situation meets my definition of ultimate frustration:
To be responsible for something that I have no control over.
The lesson here is that you need to keep tabs on what the credit bureaus have in your file. If there are mistakes, it's not a problem for them. So even if they botch up your files, it's your responsibility to make sure they get cleaned up.
By United States law, you are entitled to one free credit report from each agency per year. You should check those reports out, and take action to have errors fixed before they are a real problem for you. I haven't checked mine in a few years, thinking there couldn't be anything wrong since I'm so responsible with my money. Wrong...so very wrong.
You can get your "free" credit reports here: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp
Cranky-alert: When you try to order a free report on line, the websites get suspiciously "buggy." They give you error messages saying your order can't be processed, tell you that you have to write a snail-mail letter, etc. However, they DO sell reports that are viewable instantly on-line. When I paid my $15-20 each time, any "order processing" issues were magically cleared!
So you can take the cheap-but-persistent route and get the free reports via mail. But if you're impatient, or in a need-it-now situation like me, then just pony up the cash.
*sigh* I was hoping my cranky mood would lift after finishing this blog post. Turning a problem into a teaching tool will usually perk me up. Not this time: I remain cranky with the evil credit bureaus. Tenacity has it's virtues though. I'm still going to see if I can get this turned around before the weekend. Wish me luck!
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