Paso Robles Real Estate

Paso Robles – Check Your Credit Report at Least Once a Year

Interest rates came down a bit last week, so I started considering refinancing my home to a lower interest rate. Of course, the first thing I thought to do was to have my credit report run by the loan officer in our office. When the credit scores came up, she said, “You don’t have any mortgage lates, do you?” I said, “No, that is the first payment I make every month, and I have always been on time.”

Well, surprise, surprise! There is a mortgage late from May of 2007 showing on the report. I was stunned… The first thing I did the next day was call the mortgage company who, by the way, no longer services my mortgage, because I knew I refinanced sometime last year.

The service representative was obviously located out of the country – boy, that gripes me – but I have to say he was able to help me out. I asked him what date the payment was made in May, and he said the 23rd. Since I knew I had refinanced last year, I asked him, “What date was the last payment I made to your company?” and his response was, “March 2007.” I said, “If my last payment was March of 2007, how can I have a late payment for May of 2007?”

His next advice was to contact the Research Department, Credit Disputes, by fax and registered mail to dispute the derogatory. Unfortunately, this is not the first time I had to dispute items on my credit report.

Ten years ago when we were contemplating building a home, I pulled my credit report after having never looked at it and found there was all kinds of bad information on there. Some accounts that had been paid off 15 years previously still showed as owed, and several accounts that I thought were closed weren’t. It took me about six months to get it all straightened out. Also, there were at least two items that couldn’t be disputed, because the companies were no longer in business so there were no records.

After I got off of the phone with this lender, I pulled out my refinance records from last year. Fortunately, I keep pretty good records. Pursuant to my refinance last year, this company was paid in full on April 11, 2007 as evidenced by my HUD-1 Statement (closing statement).

Believe me, it is smart to check your credit report at least once a year unless you want to be in the situation I am in now where I can’t refinance until I get this derogatory removed from my credit report. Not a good place to be when the ability to refinance or purchase a new home is so dependent, especially now, on your credit scores.

P.S. Be sure to keep a copy of your HUD-1 Statement handy for the first tax season after you purchase or refinance your home as you will need it for certain fees you paid that might be tax-deductible!

If you have any real estate questions or general questions about San Luis Obispo North County, please contact me via email, call me at (805) 235-0234 or visit my website for more information.

It starts with a dream…

Tags: closing statement, credit report, HUD-1, interest rates, refinance records