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Are you one of the 50% of mortgage borrowers who apply with multiple lenders in pursuit of the best rate and terms? If so, you're not alone. We recently surveyed borrowers and found that half believe applying with several lenders is the key to securing the most favorable mortgage deal.

As a lender, the initial factor to consider is the credit score of a borrower. This metric assesses whether an individual is eligible for your loan offerings or if they require an enhancement of their credit status to qualify. While lenders might utilize various scoring systems, the ultimate objective remains consistent: to verify that borrowers have the financial capacity to manage their mortgage repayments.

Mortgage lenders experienced a rude awakening when, after years of neglect thanks to historically high refinance volume, they reached out to touch bases with their real estate agent business referral partners. The relationships they thought they would easily rekindle were no longer there.

When loan volumes fell, real estate agents who hadn’t heard from a mortgage broker or loan officer in years were suddenly getting multiple invitations to coffee or lunch every day. They ignored most of them.

What happens to Wayfinder and What-if Simulator after October 1, 2024? CreditXpert has traditionally been distributed through Credit Reporting Agencies (CRAs) and accessible to mortgage professionals as they order credit and verification services. Starting October 1, 2024, Wayfinder and What-if Simulator will be sunsetted and no-longer available for purchase through CRA’s. Instead, the new CreditXpert platform will be offered directly through CreditXpert.

Help consumers find what they can’t on their own - how to optimize their credit, get a lower interest rate and mortgage purchasing power during the homebuying process.

By the time a new home buyer completes the mortgage loan application, most of the money in the lender’s cost-to-close has already been spent. That’s because marketing and sales make up the lion’s share of closing costs. If the loan doesn’t close—which is happening much more often in a downturn—no one gets paid. Worse yet, high fall-out adds to an already high cost to close. Check out these steps to try to avoid roadblocks during the homebuying process.

In a recent video with Mortgage Bankers Association, Mike Darne sat down with the team to discuss the current state of the market. Here's a brief summary and full video below: As many of us already know, the 30-year fixed rates have approached the 8% mark. This is significantly increasing the cost of homeownership and, for lenders, reducing the pool of potential borrowers. So what can be done in the short run to tackle this challenge? Let's return to the three Cs of mortgage lending: capacity, collateral, and credit.

While it’s true that helping borrowers raise their credit score can mean a better deal on their next mortgage for over 70% of all loan applicants and this goes a long way toward helping loan officers stop loan fallout, the borrowers that often get the most benefit are at the lower end of the spectrum.

Uncommon knowledge: Mortgage and consumer credit scores are quite different. What's different? How are each calculated? Why are there two scores?

Anyone who has worked in the mortgage industry for more than a decade or so will tell you that mortgage rates are out of control. From interest rates below 3% in 2020, we are now in a time where they are breaking through the 7% ceiling.

Your credit card usage can make or break your mortgage loan approval. Lenders look not only at your credit score but also at your debt-to-income ratio, which includes the payments on your credit cards. So improper use of your credit cards could make it harder to get approved for a mortgage.

On May 1 DTI joins the list of LLPA characteristics, so it becomes especially important to offer credit score improvement to all borrowers whose debt-to-income ratio is 40% or greater. Credit score improvement won’t reduce debt-to-income. It could, however, help off-set the DTI premium for these borrowers. We know that a Credit First strategy, where credit score improvement, is offered to every eligible borrower, is a true hidden winner, one that will enhance every lender’s bottom line as well as help offer borrowers a better, more competitive rate. The math is simple. So is credit score improvement thanks to CreditXpert’s time-tested, data-centric approach.

Some of the loan officers we spoke to were hesitant to bring up credit to their applicants, especially those who had already completed their loan application, because they felt it would take too long to do anything about the consumer’s credit anyway. That’s not always true.

"Having CoreLogic Credco connected to our new platform means that thousands of mortgage lenders can more easily integrate data-driven credit analytics into their operations," said CreditXpert CEO Jim Hemmer. "We know that helping borrowers improve their credit score is an opportunity for lenders to both improve profits and make more compelling offers."