The Mortgage Files

Nationally syndicated mortgage news and advice from Senior Loan Officer Scott Sheldon.

How Does Having a Co-Signor Help Me Get A Mortgage?

By Scott Sheldon / July 29, 2013

Yes, having a cosigner in most situations does help you qualify for a mortgage as long as the cosigner has additional income used to offset the new housing payment liability. Consumers seeking to qualify for mortgage loan financing can use the benefit of someone else’s income to help them purchase a home or refinance a…

Can I get pre-approved without having my credit ran?

By Scott Sheldon / July 25, 2013

In short the answer is no, but for a few reasons. A credit report is only as good as that moment in time that it is obtained  by the creditor, mortgage company, bank etc.  The Fair Credit Reporting Act & Home Mortgage Disclosure Act  both prevent a lender from originating a new loan with another…

I'm trying to get a mortgage, but my credit score isn't high enough, what can I do to improve my credit rating?

By Scott Sheldon / May 31, 2013

Typically, with most mortgage companies you will need it least it 620 minimum credit score to get a mortgage. Let’s be clear about something else, this is also a middle credit score. What a mortgage lender pulls your credit report they obtain three credit scores a high credit score, middle credit score and a low…

Can you use my credit report for a loan?

By Scott Sheldon / May 14, 2013

No, and neither can any other mortgage lender. Few questions: the credit report did you have, where is it from exactly? If it’s from a car loan, it doesn’t really help you because most mortgage companies will need to pull what’s called the Tri-Merge credit report, deriving a score from each credit bureau. Most auto…

What's the minimum credit score I need to get a mortgage loan?

By Scott Sheldon / May 3, 2013

You will need at least a middle credit score of 620 or better. A mortgage company will pull a tri- merge credit report from each credit bureau. There will be three scores, a high score, a middle score and a low score. It doesn’t matter which bureau provides it, but the middle credit score is…

Who Has The Best Rates For A Sonoma County Home Loan?

By Scott Sheldon / April 22, 2013

The answer is nobody. Not anyone lender has a monopoly on the market. Interest rates change on a daily basis. When you hear interest rates advertised on the radio or online or you hear that interest rates drop again the information is automatically outdated. Why is this? Very simple answer-mortgage rates are tied to mortgage…

Short Sale in 2011? How about a 2011 Bankruptcy?

By Scott Sheldon / April 7, 2013

Think you can’t qualify for a loan because of a short sale as recent as 2011? Think again, you actually could qualify. How about a 2011 Chapter 7 bankruptcy? Yep, you can still potentially qualify. For anyone who had a recent short sale, even foreclosure or bankruptcy, read on…. Lending rules in place: Short sale-…

Will pulling a credit report for a mortgage make my credit score drop?

By Scott Sheldon / April 2, 2013

Short answer-it depends. The majority of the time when a mortgage lender pulls a copy of your credit report, while it does show up as an inquiry on the tri-merge report, it does not necessarily make your credit score automatically drop. Where people get into trouble, is when they’re applying for a mortgage, applying for…