Since the outset of the pandemic, market conditions have triggered record numbers of loan originations. Over the past year, we’ve seen low rates, high demand and a dramatic acceleration in home prices. These unprecedented market factors have continued to underscore the importance of managing appraisal risk.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you’re allowed to dispute inaccurate information on your credit report. If you believe there are inaccuracies on your report, or there are errors that you believe are the result of fraud, take the following steps:

2020 was a year unlike any other for mortgage lenders, and planning for 2021 can be a tall task. Who knows where we’ll be a month or two down the road, let alone by the end of the year? For this reason, it can be extremely difficult to plan out your marketing strategy. Nonetheless, there are universal strategies we should all be focusing on to bring the right customers through the door.

In addition to your credit score, your debt-to-income ratio is a key metric to monitor when calculating your financial wellness. Measuring your debt-to-income can be one of the first steps in determining whether you’re comfortable with your current debt, as well as the extent to which you’re prepared to take on new debt.

In the wake of the recent SolarWinds security breach, expert security researchers found that the company’s update server could have been accessed by using the password “solarwinds123”, reminding us that even the most high-profile organizations are prone to cybersecurity mishaps. Since there’s never been a better time to stress good cyber hygiene, let’s revisit the components of a great password:

Christmas is almost here, but if you’re like many holiday shoppers, chances are you’ve barely begun your search for holiday gifts. If you’re waiting until this week, take some additional precautions with regards to your personal information. This year, there are millions of consumers spending millions of dollars, on thousands of websites, in a condensed amount of time. It’s a fraudster’s dream come true, and it’s why you need to be extra vigilant. Here are some tips to keep your identity safe this holiday season:

It doesn’t take a credit scoring expert to tell you that missing payments is a bad thing. Credit scoring models evaluate your credit history to see how you’ve managed your current and past credit obligations in an effort to predict how likely you are to miss payments in the future. There are three main questions you should ask yourself about your late payments:

When a lender or creditor requests a copy of your credit report from the bureaus, this is called an inquiry. Inquiries may be listed on your credit history, and in some cases, could negatively impact your score. There are two types of inquiries:

If you’re tired of the burden of managing appraisals in-house when your processor’s focus would be allocated to moving loan files forward, then it might be time to outsource your appraisals to an appraisal management company (AMC). However, the easy decision to outsource to a highly proficient AMC model is hardly comparable to deciding which AMC to use.

In 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published a study finding that 26 million Americans were “credit invisible”- in other words, about 1 in every 10 Americans has no documented credit profile with the 3 major credit bureaus.