I specialize in Kentucky First Time Homebuyers FHA, VA, USDA & Rural Housing, KHC and Fannie Mae mortgage loans. I have helped over 1300 Kentucky families buy their first home or refinance their current mortgage for a lower payment; Kentucky First time buyers we still how available down payment assistance with KHC. Free Mortgage applications/ same day approvals. Web site is not endorsed by the FHA, VA, USDA govt agency. Text/call 502-905-3708 kentuckyloan@gmail.com NMLS 57916 NMLS 1738461
Fannie Mae announced that their Automated Underwriting System will now take an AVERAGE of the two scores for qualifying
Do you and your partner have very different credit scores? Great news! You may have access to more loan program options than you thought!
Here's the deal... All lenders pull FICO scores from each of the three credit bureaus to qualify a borrower. In situations with co-applicants, we will use the lower of the two middle scores for qualifying purposes. Historically, to do a Conventional Loan, both mid-scores would have to be above 620.
Effective on 9/18/21, Fannie Mae announced that their Automated Underwriting System will now take an AVERAGE of the two scores for qualifying. This critical change may help many borrowers qualify and have increased advantages when putting an offer in on a home.
Long story short - we can help you now more than ever. Curious if this will help you? Reach out to me today, and we can investigate.
PS: These changes are effective September 18th, 2021 and there are still a lot of other variables to consider and guidelines are always subject to change. Let's start a conversation today! Message me for more details or to get started.
Mortgage Application Checklist of Documents Needed below ๐
W-2 forms (previous 2 years) Paycheck stubs (last 30 days - most current) Employer name and address (2 year history including any gaps) Bank accounts statement (recent 2 months – all pages Statements for 401(k)s, stocks and other investments (most recent) federal tax returns (previous 2 years) Residency history (2 year history) Photo identification for applicant and co-applicant (valid Driver’s License
Joel Lobb (NMLS#57916) Senior Loan Officer
American Mortgage Solutions, Inc. 10602 Timberwood Circle Suite 3 Louisville, KY 40223 Company ID #1364 | MB73346
Text/call 502-905-3708 kentuckyloan@gmail.com
If you are an individual with disabilities who needs accommodation, or you are having difficulty using our website to apply for a loan, please contact us at 502-905-3708.
Disclaimer: No statement on this site is a commitment to make a loan. Loans are subject to borrower qualifications, including income, property evaluation, sufficient equity in the home to meet Loan-to-Value requirements, and final credit approval. Approvals are subject to underwriting guidelines, interest rates, and program guidelines and are subject to change without notice based on applicant's eligibility and market conditions. Refinancing an existing loan may result in total finance charges being higher over the life of a loan. Reduction in payments may reflect a longer loan term. Terms of any loan may be subject to payment of points and fees by the applicant Equal Opportunity Lender. NMLS#57916http://www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org/
Joel Lobb, American Mortgage Solutions (Statewide)
Joel has worked with KHC for 12 of his 20 years in the mortgage lending business. Joel said, “A lot of my clients would not have been able to purchase a home of their own or possibly delayed their purchase due to lack of down payment but with the $6,000 DAP loan program, this gets them into a house sooner and starts their path to homeownership while building equity instead of throwing their money away.”
How to Raise Your Credit Score Fast for Kentucky Mortgage Loan Approval for FHA, VA, USDA and KHC Mortgage loans.
Fico Score Tips to raise score
There are certain times when it pays to have the highest credit score possible. Maybe you’re about to refinance your mortgage. Or maybe you’re recovering from a bad credit history and you want to get approved for a credit card.
It’s always good to have a healthy score, of course.
But if you’re in a place where you really need to up that score as soon as possible, there are a few under-the-radar ways to speed up the process.
How long will it take to increase your credit score? It won’t happen instantly, but if you follow the steps in this article your credit score will begin to go up within a couple of months. Let’s get started.
1. Find Out When Your Issuer Reports Payment History
Call your credit card issuer and ask when your balance gets reported to the credit bureaus. That day is often the closing date (or the last day of the billing cycle) on your account. Note that this is different from the “due date” on your statement.
There’s something called a “credit utilization ratio.” It’s the amount of credit you’ve used compared to the amount of credit you have available. You have a ratio for your overall credit card use as well as for each credit card.
It’s best to have a ratio — overall and on individual cards — of less than 30%. But here’s an insider tip: To boost your score more quickly, keep your credit utilization ratio under 10%.
Here’s an example of how the utilization ratio is calculated:
Let’s say you have two credit cards. Card A has a $6,000 credit limit and a $2,500 balance. Card B has a $10,000 limit and you have a $1,000 balance on it.
This is your utilization ratio per card:
Card A = 42% (2,500/6,000 = .416, or 42%), which is too high.
Card B = 10% (1,000/10,000 = .100, or 10%), which is awesome.
This is your overall credit utilization ratio: 22% (3,500/16,000 = 0.218), which is very good.
But here’s the problem: Even if you pay your balance off every month (and you should), if your payment is received after the reporting date, your reported balance could be high — and that negatively impacts your score because your ratio appears inflated.
So pay your bill just before the closing date. That way, your reported balance will be low or even zero. The FICO method will then use the lower balance to calculate your score. This lowers your utilization ratio and boosts your score.
2. Pay Down Debt Strategically
Okay, let’s build on what you just learned about utilization ratios.
In the above example, you have balances on more than one card. Note that Card A has a 42% ratio, which is high, and Card B has a wonderfully low 10% ratio.
Since the FICO score also looks at each card’s ratio, you can bump up your score by paying down the card with the higher balance. In the example above, pay down the balance on Card A to about $1,500 and your new ratio for Card A is 25% (1,500/6,000 = .25). Much better!
3. Pay Twice a Month
Let’s say you’ve had a rough couple of months with your finances. Maybe you needed to rebuild your deck (raising my hand) or get a new fridge. If you put big items on a credit card to get the rewards, it can temporarily throw your utilization ratio (and your credit score) out of whack.
You know that call you made to get the closing date? Make a payment two weeks before the closing date and then make another payment just before the closing date. This, of course, assumes you have the money to pay off your big expense by the end of the month.
Take care not to use a credit card for a big bill if you plan to carry a balance. The compound interest will create an ugly pile of debt pretty quickly. Credit cards should never be used for long-term loans unless you have a card with a zero percent introductory APR on purchases. Even then, you have to be mindful of the balance on the card and make sure you can pay the bill off before the intro period ends.
4. Raise Your Credit Limits
If you tend to have problems with overspending, don’t try this.
The goal is to raise your credit limit on one or more cards so that your utilization ratio goes down. But again, this only works out in your favor if you don’t feel compelled to use the newly available credit.
I also don’t recommend trying this if you have missed payments with the issuer or have a downward-trending score. The issuer could see your request for a credit limit increase as a sign that you’re about to have a financial crisis and need the extra credit. I’ve actually seen this result in a decrease in credit limits. So be sure your situation looks stable before you ask for an increase.
That said, as long as you’ve been a great customer and your score is reasonably healthy, this is a good strategy to try.
All you have to do is call your credit card company and ask for an increase to your credit limit. Have an amount in mind before you call. Make that amount a little higher than what you want in case they feel the need to negotiate.
Remember the example in #1? Card A has a $6,000 limit and you have a $2,500 balance on it. That’s a 42% utilization ratio (2,500/6,000 = .416, or 42%).
If your limit goes up to $8,500, then your new ratio is a more pleasing 29% (2,500/8,500 = .294, or 29%). The higher the limit, the lower your ratio will be and this helps your score.
5. Mix It Up
A few years back, I realized I didn’t have much of a mix of credit. I have credit cards with low utilization ratios and a mortgage, but I hadn’t paid off an installment loan for a couple of decades.
I wanted to raise my score a nudge, so I decided to get a car loan at a very low rate. I spent a year paying it off just to get a mix in my credit. At first, my score went down a little, but after about six months, my score started increasing. Your credit mix is only 10% of your FICO score, but sometimes that little bit can bump you up from good credit to excellent credit.
5 categories that make up your credit score
I wasn’t planning on applying for credit within the next six months, so my approach was fine. But if you’re refinancing your mortgage (or planning something else really big) and you want a quick boost, don’t use this strategy. This is a good one for a long-term approach.
Bottom Line
When you want to boost your credit score, there are two basic rules you have to follow:
First, keep your credit card balances low.
Second, pay your bills on time (and in full). Do these two things and then toss in one or more of the sneaky ways above to give your score a kickstart.
And remember — you do not have to carry a balance to build a good score. If you do that, you’re on a slippery slope to debt.
When it comes to your credit score, believing the wrong information could literally cost you.
What Types of Credit Pulls Really Harm My Score?
Research shows that people who apply for new credit too frequently indicate a higher credit risk. For this reason, scoring models like FICO® factor in the number of inquiries on your credit reports, which leads some people to incorrectly believe that having your credit pulled automatically damages your score. That is not exactly the case — and here’s the scoop:
It is true that some inquiries can potentially harm your credit. Hard inquiries, like a lender pulling your credit report, could affect your score. But soft inquiries, like checking your own credit score, will not.For example: If you apply for numerous credit cards, then it will probably negatively impact your credit score. But if you have multiple credit pulls from mortgage companies, student loan providers, or auto lenders because you are rate shopping, then there might be a less substantial impact on your score because rate shopping doesn’t indicate an elevated credit risk — as long as multiple inquires occur within a small window of time (usually between 14 and 45 days).
Should I Close Paid-Off Credit Cards?
Another common credit myth is that paid-off credit card accounts should be closed. According to FICO, credit card accounts should never be closed for the sole purpose of raising a credit score. Closing a zero-balance credit card account often has the unintended effect of raising your revolving utilization ratio — or your available credit relative to your outstanding account balances.
When you close an unused account, the available credit limit is no longer factored into your revolving utilization. If you carry an outstanding balance on any other credit cards, closing a zero-balance account could result in a higher overall revolving utilization ratio, which in turn could cause your credit score to drop.
Is 30% the Magic Number for Credit Card Utilization?
When it comes to credit card utilization, a lower percentage is generally better. One credit scoring myth that has confused a lot of consumers over the years is the idea that 30% is the magic number for credit card utilization. According to FICO, that isn’t true.
If you want to have a healthy credit score, aim to pay off your credit card balances in full each month. Pay by the statement closing date, and you should see that the account balance on your credit report is reflected as zero — and note that a zero balance can lead to lower revolving credit utilization (and generally a better credit score).
The newest version of the FICO credit score unveiled on Thursday will have a broader view of how you manage your debt and will boost as many scores as it will hurt.
Instead of relying on just a snapshot of your financial behavior, the new score, called FICO Score 10, will be able to peer into your financial habits for the past 24 months and determine – based on that history – if you’re a risky borrower.
About 40 million Americans will see their FICO score increase by 20 points or more because of the change, while another 40 million will experience a decline by at least 20 points, said Dave Shellenberger, vice president of product management at FICO. Another 30 million will notice smaller changes either way.
“These are the most predictive scores FICO has developed to date,” Shellenberger told Yahoo Money. “They really do an excellent job of reinforcing good consumer financial habits – making payments on time, not running up balances, taking out credit only when you need it. Those types of behaviors are rewarded strongly.”
FICO unveiled a new credit score that will help the credit scores of some Americans and hurt some as well. (Photo: Getty Creative)
Who will the new FICO score hurt?
The new score will judge certain risky behaviors more harshly.
For instance, if you build up balances on your credit cards over the last 24 months, that will hurt your score. Before, the FICO score could only see your current balance, and not the history of your growing credit card debt.
Another potential red flag is personal loans. If you consolidated credit card balances into a personal loan and then subsequently racked up new credit card debt, your score would reflect a riskier borrower.
This is especially timely, given the rise in personal loans over the last five years and increases in credit card debt, according to Matt Schulz, chief industry analyst with CompareCards.com.
“Personal loans have grown to be such a popular tool, it’s good that FICO is going to address that,” he told Yahoo Money. “We certainly have seen a lot of credit card debt move into the personal loan space.”
Building up credit card debt over time will hurt your score more under the new FICO version. (Photo: REUTERS/Fayaz Aziz)
Who will the new FICO score help?
The new score will be more forgiving of other behaviors that may be considered risky by earlier score versions.
For example, if you run up your credit card balances over Christmas or on a summer vacation, but it’s a one-time spike, that won’t hurt your FICO 10 score as much. That’s because the model can look back on historical balances and see this is not a consistent pattern.
“In the past, the FICO score would focus on the most recent data,” Shellenberger said. “FICO 10 gives a more holistic picture that can help during an aberration. That sudden spike’s impact on your score softens considerably.”
Change ‘bound to happen’
A number of changes in the credit landscape prompted FICO to rebuild its score, an undertaking the company does every five years or so. Its score is the most widely used by lenders to determine who to lend to and at what interest rate.
The new score now utilizes so-called trended data in a person’s credit report that shows a person’s credit performance over the last two years. It also provides more granular data, such as the amount you paid toward your credit card.
Previous FICO scores didn’t take into account this trended data, but its competitor – VantageScore – uses the data in its latest score version.
FICO 10 also reflects major changes in credit reports in the last few years due to regulations and settlements. Tax liens, judgments, and medical collections paid by insurance have been removed from credit histories altogether, while defaulted medical debt can’t show up on a report for at least six months.
“This was bound to happen,” John Ulzheimer, a credit expert who formerly worked at FICO and Equifax, told Yahoo Money. “When you take away highly predictive attributes, the scoring models are going to more heavily weigh other attributes that haven't been watered down or removed from consumer credit reports.”
If you pay your bills on time and keep credit card balances low, your credit score will still be high, even under the new FICO score. (Photo: Getty Creative)
Same old credit score rules apply
No matter which FICO score is used, the three pillars of maintaining a high credit score remain the same:
Pay your bills on time, all the time.
Keep balances on your credit cards well below their limits.
Don’t apply for too much credit, too often.
“If you do these three things over and over again,” Schulz said, “over time your credit will be just fine.”
Janna is an editor for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter@JannaHerron.
I have helped over 1300 Kentucky families buy or refinance their home over the last 20 years. Realizing that this is one of the biggest, most important financial transactions a family makes during their lifetime, I always feel honored and respected when I am chosen to originate their personal home loan. You can count on me to deliver on what I say, and I will always give you honest, up-front personal attention you deserve during the loan process.
I have several advantages over the large banks in town. First, I can search and negotiate for your loan options through several different mortgage companies across the country to get you the best deal locally. Where most banks will offer offer you their one set of loan products. I have access to over 10 different mortgage companies to broker your loan through to get you the best pricing and loan products that may not fit into the bank's program due to credit, income, or other underwriting issues.
You will not get lost in the shuffle like most borrowers do at the mega banks; you're just not a number at our company, you are a person and we will treat you like one throughout the entire process.
