MORTGAGE UPDATE

Hi!

Just wanted to let you know about a significant change in mortgage lending. At the beginning of the year Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae started charging higher rates for loans with less than 20% down and for credit scores below 680.

They have just revised this again. As of now, credit scores of 719 or less will be charged higher rates. The increases are progressive – each 20 point increment in credit scores results in a higher rate. Additionally, this now effects loans with as much as 40% down!

I would recommend that any prospective buyers you are working with get their credit checked immediately to make sure that their credit scores are as high as possible. We have had several instances recently where mistakes were made on our clients’ credit reports – including items that did not belong to our clients, identity theft, and collection accounts that had been satisfied but never cleared with the bureaus. Since it can take several months to clear up problems, it is best to start well in advance of the buying process. One single collection account can lower credit scores as much as 80 points.

I would like to strongly urge you to check your own credit to make sure that all the information reported for you is accurate. 719 used to be a great credit score, but now it can result in paying thousands of extra dollars over the life of a loan because of one simple error.

If you, or your clients, need any additional information on this, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Regards,

Michael S. Llewellyn
Westwind Mortgage, L.L.C.
8400 Alvin High Lane
Austin, TX 78729-3786
TX Mortgage Broker License #1405
512-250-0901 Fax 512-918-2403
Cell 512-663-6453 (O-N-E-M-I-K-E)
michael@westwindmortgage.net