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In today’s credit climate, having a steady job and a good credit rating aren’t enough. When it comes down to mortgages, credit officers are getting more and more picky about the type of clientele they prefer. Hence it is always important that you take a proactive approach and dazzle your mortgage officer with your preparation.

The 4 Cs A Loan Officer Looks For

Primarily when assessing your application, the four Cs are a pre-requisite to a mortgage officer. This tells mortgage officers a lot about they type of client you will shape up to be. The four C’s are:

1. Capacity:  This refers to the ability of an individual to meet the servicing requirements of a mortgage and how successfully will he/she be able to make the repayments.
2. Character / Credit:  This of course is proof of the fat that a borrower has not been a bankrupt, been foreclosed on been in arrears in the past or have a history not meeting debts. Most of this information is available on your credit report.
3. Capital: This is the down payment or the equity that the borrower holds in the property being offered as collateral.  Needless to say, that the higher the down payment or the more the equity in the property the better it looks on your application, not too mention the easier it is makes it you as far as loan repayments are concerned.
4. Collateral: This is pretty self explanatory, as it refers to the security being offered, its condition and of course it’s appraisal value. These elements put together constitute the type of security.

One factor that consumers often tend to make a mistake with is that, they feel either a strong income or a great credit score is sufficient to get you over the line. This however is not true. It is a combination of al four factors that make a customer exceptional. Moreover in a credit climate such as the one we have now, lenders are bound to be a bit nit picky.

Paperwork For A Lending Officer

Before applying for your mortgage loan, apart from having perfect credit scores, make sure you have the following paper work in order:

• The last 2 years W-2 forms
• Bank statements for 3 months
• If you are self employed all other relevant financials including the previous 2 tax returns
• The lender may ask for additional documentation, be prepared to give hand them over without any substantial delay

In addition to this remember never to change your circumstances post your loan application, your application could get knocked out the ballpark even if you are an exceptional customer, should you greatly change your situation. Some things to avoid in this regard are:

• Do not apply for new credit once you have applied for your loan, this will affect your serviceability.
• Remember, only float your interest rate once you know that you re comfortable with paying a higher repayment.
• Make sure that you are up to date with all your bills and expenses and your credit score is not hampered in any way.
• If the lender requires additional documentation get it to them as fast as you can, and do not question their request for more paperwork.
• One pivotal mistake consumers often make is that they change their job after having made a mortgage application, it is absolutely essential that you do not do this, as it will reset the clock on your new job and that in turn will greatly affect the mortgage officer’s decision.

Keeping these simple things in mind could be the difference between you getting an approval and you getting shown the door.

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Consumers are of the opinion that once that after filing bankruptcy, it spells the end of the road for them. This however is not true. There is life after bankruptcy and it can be full of the same if not similar opportunities prior to filing for bankruptcy. [...]

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While bankruptcy is often a fresh start for debtors it is not free from consequences for your credit score rating. Prior to filing for bankruptcy it is essential that consumers fully understand their legal position and obligations and the effect of bankruptcy on their credit report. Bankruptcy should be considered only as last resort as it could have a major impact on your credit score rating and if possible, a bankruptcy alternative should be considered. [...]

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Numerous credit consumers have to face rejection from financial institutions owing to credit errors which were not caused by them. It is therefore important to repair your credit report and improve your score as soon as possible.

Alison had a credit card with a credit institution. Although Alison had been very regular with her payments, owing to a system error, her payments were not recorded and were being credited to another account. Her account showed defaults for over two and half months. Alison was completely unaware of this, till she applied for a mortgage. Her application was rejected owing to her repayment history.

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Kylie Mathews had a poor credit rating and was unable to obtain finance without agreeing to pay higher credit interest rates.

For poor credit rating customers, getting a good credit interest rate is becoming a bigger problem during the recession. One fact to remember is that your individual FICO credit score has a directly proportional relation to the credit interest rate that will be offered to you (i.e. the better your FICO score the better the credit interest rate).

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Nearly 70% of all new cars purchased are on finance, making car loans one of the most popular types of consumer loans at present. However, despite the initial attraction of car financing, several borrowers later have trouble keeping up with their loan repayments, which ultimately affects their credit scores. As per a recently conducted Kelley Blue Book study, sixty per cent of car loan shoppers are now choosing longer term car loans as a way to reduce monthly repayments. While this is a smart move, reduced repayments alone cannot keep things in control and some other factors must be considered as well.

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When Tevita Henare came in for some professional advice regarding her mortgage loan the only questions on her mind were “How can I manage my mortgage loan better?” and “How can I improve my credit report” . Needless to say, in recent times more and more mortgage loan holders seem to be affected by this, hence this might be a good time for mortgage holders to learn how to manage their mortgages better and thereby improve their situations and credit reports.

Mortgage loans are one of the most important credit contracts consumers can get. It is mandatory that you manage this credit contract the best you can, so that it does not negatively impact your credit report or impair it any further. Below are a few points that would help you manage your mortgage loan better.

1.    Timely Payments

The first and probably most important step towards managing your mortgage loan efficiently is making timely mortgage repayments. Analyze your individual pay cycle and depending on whether you get paid weekly, fortnightly or monthly, talk to your bank to arrange your mortgage repayments accordingly. These can be arranged either via a direct debit or via self credit (this is where you pay the nominated mortgage loan account yourself). Try to ensure that the payments fall a day after the money from your salary or wages have come into your bank account. This will ensure that you never miss a payment.

2.    Contact Your Funder

If you think that you are going to struggle with your mortgage loan repayments for a specified period, contact your mortgage lender immediately and inform them of the situation. They may be able to defer your mortgage interest payments or allow the interest payments to be capitalized Capitalizing means that the interest payments get added to your loan amount for the duration that you are unable to make the repayments. The last thing you want is for a missed repayment to appear on your credit report.

3.    Increased Contributions

If you have received a pay rise, have worked overtime or find that that at the end of the month you have surplus monies left over, put these extra funds towards your mortgage loan. This will help you build up a buffer (surplus of cash in your mortgage account which can be drawn down later at the mortgage holder’s discretion) for future contingencies and unexpected commitments.

4.    Use an Offset Account

An offset account could be a very handy tool in helping you combat the rise in your mortgage loan repayments. An offset account, in most cases offers you the same interest rate as that of your mortgage loan. Hence it is wise to have surplus funds in your mortgage loan offset account as this will help reduce the interest payments on your mortgage loan.

5.    Don’t draw out equity unnecessarily from your home

This is a very common mistake which mortgage clients make. Most mortgage clients do this in order to combat their spending habits. Drawing out the unused equity from your home is not a good idea.

Let us assume that your home is worth $350,000 and you have taken out a mortgage loan on it worth $280,000.00 (80% of the property value to avoid Loan Mortgage Insurance Implications, also known as LMI). In about 2 years time your home is worth $385,000 assuming a 10% increase over 2 years and your mortgage loan is down to about $250,000. In this situation the available equity in your property is 80% of $385,000 = $308,000 less your mortgage loan balance of 250,000 which is equal to $58,000. This means that you can increase your mortgage loan by getting an additional $58,000 from the mortgage lender without having any LMI implications.

Doing this is a bad idea because the progress you had made towards repaying your home off sooner will have been undone. This not only leverages mortgage clients further but also adds another credit enquiry to your credit report.

6.    Understand the Mortgage Product You Are In

It is very essential that you understand the type of mortgage loan product you have. Mortgage loans can be of various types. Most mortgage clients use the standard variable options in which the bank provides you with a product that uses the bank’s standard variable rate. In most cases these products have user and management fees, which can be charged to your mortgage loan account.

It is essential that you are aware of the fees and charges related to your mortgage loan account. These fees and charges can sometimes make your mortgage loan appear to be in arrears, which looks detrimental on your home loan statements and if ignored can trickle down to your credit report. Another situation is where in certain cases banks might charge you a penalty for excessive mortgage contributions. Banks can set a ceiling on the amount a client can contribute over and above the minimum repayments in a year. Mortgage clients should be aware that they do not exceed this limit or else they are running the risk of being penalized by the bank.

Another very powerful mortgage loan product is a Line of Credit, also known as an LOC. A line of credit allows the mortgage loan client to make the minimum repayments while allowing the mortgage interest to  capitalize as long as the loan amount stays below the master or the global limit (Master/Global limit is the maximum loan amount that is allowed under the particular facility for the mortgage loan client). This can be a very useful mortgage loan management tool.

7.    If Interest Rates Fall Do Not Reduce Your Contributions

A common mistake mortgage holders make is to reduce their repayments as interest rates fall. Keep your mortgage loan repayments constant as this will allow you to pay off you mortgage faster and this helps reduce the overall debt levels on your mortgage loan. Clients must remember that if interest rates are falling owing to troubled economic conditions, they will rise once the economy starts to stabilize. Hence it is better to get used to higher repayments rather than have to adjust with a sudden increase in mortgage repayments.

8.    Fixing of Interest Rates

In certain cases if you feel that you are comfortable with the current interest rates and mortgage loan repayments and you are anticipating future mortgage interest rate rises, it might be a good idea to lock in your interest rates for a fixed period depending on your mortgage lending facility. This will help you get on top of all your mortgage repayments and prepare for when you come out of the fixed rate period.

9.    Budgeting

It is always a good ploy to create a budget around your mortgage loan repayments. Once you have factored in your monthly mortgage loan repayments you can work out how much of a surplus of funds you have to meet all your other expenses. Once you have worked this out and have estimated your total monthly expenditure you can work out if you are in a situation to make extra contributions towards you mortgage loan or offset account.

10.    Refinancing

In certain cases it might be better for clients to refinance out of their existing mortgage facility. This is more common in cases where existing mortgage loan clients are in a product which has an excessively high interest rate or the mortgage loan product they are in does not provide them with the flexibility and ease of management when compared to some of the other mortgage loan products available in the market.

These tips provide you with a guideline to better manage your mortgage loan. Do not forget that mortgages are very important consumer credit facilities and it is advisable that mortgage loans should be managed efficiently. Missed mortgage repayments, mortgage arrears or mortgage defaults and court judgments can irreparably damage your credit report and your ability to get a consumer loan.

Take these few simple and easy steps towards better managing your mortgage loan facility and improving your credit report.

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Credit reports are very important to create your credibility to help you have a better financial standing. With a positive credit report a lender can be impressed and taking loan becomes easier. A negative credit report can damage your credibility and affect the lender’s confidence in you. You might lose the business too, for which you require a positive credit report. Or you might not be able to purchase a thing that requires a good credit report.

Unfavorable card use, late payments, account collection, account closure and absence of credit references are aspects that damage a credit report. To get a good credit report you should have more credit scores, which range from 300 to 900. Credit scores up to 720 or higher are best to gain favorable interest rates.

You can get as good a credit report as serious you would be. To get an excellent credit report, make it a point not to miss the minutest economical issue as a cell phone and cable bills. These are items that are treated with less care and bills piling up are not given much importance. But you get to know the bad consequences when you pay for the missed payments records.

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Such people are not in thousands but in millions who have some kind of negative comments or marks on their credit lifeline that is known as credit report. However, they are not people always whose financial wrong doings become the cause of such negative comments, sometimes it happens so that many people have to pay the price for those mistakes that are committed by somewhere else. Credit reporting agencies have such natural bent of nature that these mistakes can be mistakenly added in your credit report and that’s why it is the matter of utmost importance to check your credit thoroughly not once, not twice, but thrice as these mistakenly added negative comments can prove damaging for your financial well-being.

There are some people who have a lethargic attitude in this connection and do not like to make any effort in getting off these negative comments off their credit report, but whenever they need some loan for their business or personal requirements, they have to face a lot of difficulties because of their bad credit rating. If you find some negative comment or other wrong information in your credit report, the best thing is to take immediate action instead of lingering that issue on tomorrow or a day after tomorrow. Similarly, those who have already suffered a lot because of their bad credit score and now willing to do everything to repair that credit, they also need to take similar sort of steps in this connection.

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There are many people who have to pay cash rent each month and most of time this cash rent goes directly to the land owner. Most of the time these cash payments do nothing good to build your credit, especially when your home owner refuses to use credit card for rent payment. People with such cases often try to find ways to make these rent payment appear in their credit report. They want to know whether they or their home owner can report these payments to three credit agencies. They want to know, whether they can pay through some bank? Can they use some form of check? There are many who have paid thousands of dollars in cash rent that couldn’t do anything in building their credit.

You home owner will have to report the credit agencies directly, but some fees they may have to pay to participate in information submission to the credit agencies. That’s the biggest reason when people check their credit report, they find some information there but many are not included in your credit report.

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