Is having a copy of the original application important?

[Sandy Uhlmann]

I am in the process of purchasing a note.  Seller tells me that they don't have a copy of the original application.  Is this important?  Am I able to pull credit through a third party vendor without it?

I know that FCI tells me that they need it for them to pull credit.  Is there other reasons that having a copy of the original application is necessary?  

[Dion DePaoli]

FCI is not willing to pull credit on a loan you do not own and they don't have a contractual interest in to service for you.  That is pretty standard.  They have no idea what you will do with it and you may or may not violate Fair Credit Act standards with it.  

An application is not required for a credit pull, provided you have an interest in the loan but it is a best practice to obtain either authorization signed by the borrower or an application giving authorization to pull credit. Also, pretty standard credit practice. Authorizations are generally not assignable. An interest can be ownership or through a contractual intent to purchase. Since most trades do not include LOI's the authorization is used as a best practice. You will give the Seller the authorization form and ask they have the borrower execute it. The alternative is to ask the seller to pull one for you.