Credit disputes could bar home loans

WASHINGTON – Oct. 27, 2009 – Mortgage loan applicants with a credit dispute on their records may find it impossible to get a loan, even if they have a score above 800 and a large downpayment, consumer watchdogs warn.

The problem stems from a Fannie Mae policy that requires lenders to hand-underwrite these loans, because that practice makes it harder for scammers to use the credit dispute law to hide bad credit experiences.

Denying people who are good credit risks a loan is frequently an unintended consequence, says Christopher Cruise, a mortgage originator and a founder of Responsible Loan Officers. “There’s no question – when there are lots of other applications and business is good,” applications requiring extra time and research “just aren’t going to move.”

The policy is “extremely unfair to honest consumers who are simply doing what they should – challenging misinformation,” says Evan Hendricks, whose newsletter Privacy Times outlined Fannie Mae’s policy in a recent report.

Fannie Mae says it is reviewing the policy and may change it.

Source: Washington Writers Group, Kenneth R. Harney (10/25/2009)

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