All Forum Posts by: Matt J.

Hello Zach - my gut reaction is this is going to be tough. My suggestion is to speak with a credit union or small/regional bank. The reason for this is you've got a better chance of the actual decision maker listening to you and your situation versus saying this loan "doesn't fit in the box". The other benefit of these small lenders is they have the ability, and often do, portfolio the loan (hold it in their books and service it). I prefer credit unions myself. Good luck and I hope it works out for you.

Hello Joanna - Credit Karma is NOT going to give you a mortgage credit score. They will deliver some type of consumer score using a consumer score model. These consumer scores tend to be much higher than a mortgage score.

Yes, you are correct mortgage lenders (banks, CU's & mortgage bankers) use a mortgage score model. You are graded harder with a mortgage score since someone is considering loaning you tens of thousands of dollars based, in large part, off that score.

Please let me know if you have additional questions.

Hello John -

This question seems to be asked fairly often. I'll address a couple of your questions.

Pulling your own credit report wont give you the same score that the mortgage lenders are going to see when they pull your credit. The reason for this is there are diffrent score models for diffrent industries, auto, insurance, mortgage, consumer, etc. When you pull your own credit you will get a consumer credit score NOT a mortgage score. Consumer scores are almost always coniderably higher than mortgage scores. I've seen many upset borrowers in front of thier loan officer wanting to know when the score they have on thier mortgage credit report is so much lower than what you pulled yourself.

Richard mentioned that the inquiry will only cost you 5 points. This may or may not be true. FICO does not disclose their score model and how many points an inquiry COULD cost you. FICO will look at your overall credit profile and base any deduction, if any, off your overall picture. I've seen mortgage inquires have zero affect on borrowers.

Shawn hit the nail on the head mortgage inquires during a specific time frame will only count once although they will show each time.

Here is a link to thread where I just addressed this.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/311/topics/310884-credit-run-buy-unknown-sources-multiple-times

For more info I'd suggest checking out myfico.com

Hello Art - I think I can shed some light on this as I work for a credit reporting agency.

Credit Plus, CBCInnovis and Informative Research are all credit reporting agencies. Meaning that most mortgage lenders (PrimeLending, Waterstone, Chase, etc.) don't got directly to the three credit repositories (Equifax, TransUnion & Experian) to pull your credit when you apply for a mortgage. They use a credit reporting agency, like Credit Plus, to pull your credit. The reason they use a credit reporting agency is that they pull your credit data from the three bureaus, consolidate the all the info, get rid of duplicate info and put it together into an easy to read format for the mortgage lender.

If these credit reporting agencies pulled your credit they should have had permissible purpose, meaning you applied for a mortgage with a lender and that lender uses one of those three credit reporting agencies.

Now, the bureaus allow a 30 or 45 day window (depending on what score model the credit reporting agency is using) where they will group/or count all mortgage inquires as ONE inquiry during that time frame. The reason for this is that they figure as a good consumer you're rate shopping or trying to find the right lender. So, You apply for a mortgage on the 1st of the month, the 15th and 25th and even though these three inquires will show on your credit report they will only count once against you.

Do this, request a copy of your credit report and look at the "Score Factors" beside your each of your bureau credit scores. There will be four, or five, score factors. They are listed in descending order of impact on your score. I rarely see "number of credit inquires" having a major impact on the score, usually its the fourth or fifth item.

For more info go to myfico.com .

I agree with Joshua. Positive things happen to positive thinkers. Now, that's not to say it's not a hot market because it is. You may need to get creative with how you find a deal. Drive for dollars, network with others, mail to off market owners, etc. Listen to the podcasts, several of them address the topic of how to find good deals other than the MLS. If you send me a Note I'll forward a Word doc I've put together with ways to find deals (this list was compiled from the podcasts and my experience, I am by no means an expert though). Above all, stay positive and remember "there is no shortage of success" (Grant Cardone)

Thanks for your feedback Bryan. If you have, or do, bid at the auction do you use a service? If so can you make a recomendation?

Hello BP Community - This question pertains to purchasing properties at auction and if you use an auction service (investment group that allows access to their website, data and checks title, etc.) or if you do it yourself through some other site that composites all auction data, such as PropertyRadar.

I've bid on properties at auction in the past using an auction service and am considering doing it again. Before that though I'd like the perspective of others who buy at the auction.

To set the stage I've been a RE broker for 14 years, own a couple of rentals, flipped a few homes and know my market well. Determining potential value of each home going to auction will not be a challange. I'd be using the auction service purely for access to the data and having them check title. As a broker I can call my local title company and they'll check title for me as well.

The auction services in the Seattle / Tacoma area charge between 2%-3% of the auction purchase price as their commission for access to thier system and bidding on my behalf. I don't want to be "penny wise, pound foolish" but at the same time want to make sure the value is there.

Any insight is appreciated - Thank you.

Thanks to all that responded - I have a couple of great options I'm considering.

Thanks @Alex Chin for the referral to Enrique. I'll follow up with him. Thanks again.

Hello BP community - Can anyone recommend an investor/part time broker friendly real estate office for me to hang my license? I've been licensed for about 14 years and hold a managing broker license. I have a full time job and only do about 3-5 deals a year. Ideally I'd like some type of 100% commission shop or 90/10 split.

I'm not high maintenance and always play by the rules. I do need a designated broker that will answer my call if I have questions (this is an issue now). I'm open to any office between Seattle and Tacoma, Puyallup, etc.

Thank you!