Miscellaneous Mortgage Refinancing Tips: Cleaning Up Your Credit Report

Applying for Home Mortgage Refinancing: Your First Step

If you are applying for home mortgage refinancing soon, the first thing you should do is check your credit report. Even if you have made all payments on time, been responsible, etc., you may have errors or some confusion on this report that will lower your score substantially. It will pay to get it cleaned up. In fact, many people check their reports every year just to prevent problems later on.

Getting a Copy of Your Credit Report

You will first need to order a copy of your report. You should order one from all three of the major reporting agencies, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. This is because they may have slightly different reports, and you will need to clear them all before applying for your new loan—a less-than-ideal rating not only affects the interest rate you will pay, but whether you will even get the loan.

Check for Discrepancies in Your Credit Reports

Once you have you reports, make a list of discrepancies on all three. There will be different reasons for the errors, but you should notify creditors as well as the reporting agencies of every one of them. Dispute these charges and be prepared to back up your claim. Start this process immediately—it could take months to clear up some issues.

Mixed Up Indentities and Your Credit Reports

Often credit report errors are caused by a mix up of identities. Make sure you send your personal information and tell them what errors it applies to. If you know something about the other person, such as if you are confused with a relative of the same name, provide some information about that person as well. Make sure you don’t agree to pay a charge that isn’t yours just to get the game over with—this will affect your credit score and they will assume you are responsible for the debt.

The Dispute Process

After you have disputed your charges, the creditors have 30 days to respond. If there are some debts that are discovered to be yours, pay them. In any case, get letters from creditors that the debt has been repaid or the error is changed, and that your credit score should reflect this. Request that they send copies to the credit reporting agencies, and work with the agencies themselves to make sure the items are removed from your report and your score bumped up.

Summary and Conclusion

Remember that this step should be done before you apply for your home mortgage refinancing because it can take a long time to clean up. Some errors may take a few weeks, and some may take months, especially in cases of identity crimes. Make sure now that you’re not a victim so that you are cleared by the time you really need the score.