Earlier this month, we learned that four members of the Chinese military were charged with hacking into Equifax’s computer system in 2017, causing the breach that shocked the world. With this type of headline back in the news cycle, it serves as a great reminder as to why it’s important to protect your data with credit freezes and credit locks.

It’s January, and that means a lot of us just simply have football on our brains. Whether it’s researching French onion dip recipes for the big game or placing bets on the final score, we’re hyped for the game. And to some of us, if we thought about mortgages like we thought about football, we’d be a lot better at our jobs. That got us thinking.

This article was originally posted on MortgageOrb, written by Ann Fulmer.

In less than a month, the nation’s top credit-reporting agencies (CRAs) will drop most civil judgment and tax lien data from consumer credit reports. It’s a change that will boost millions of consumers’ credit scores – and one that raises major concerns for employers, landlords, mortgage bankers, and other lenders and mortgage lending services providers that use FICO scores as a primary means of determining consumer creditworthiness.

The three credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and Transunion, will be making changes to two types of information currently reported on credit reports. These alterations could show credit score increases for an estimated 1 in 12 consumers. 

Tax liens and civil judgments are the two pieces of information on the hotseat. The change is scheduled for July 1, 2017. It's estimated that up to half of civil judgment information and most of tax lien data will be removed. 

Are you dreaming of dressing your new home with spiderwebs, jack-o-lanterns, and scary Halloween music while you pass out candy to hungry zombies and beautiful princesses? Then be sure to avoid these mistakes during the home buying process.

Once you find the perfect home, secure financing, and sign the contract, you may think it's a done deal. Be careful, though. There are several mistakes you may make during the mortgage process that will drive your interest rate higher, or derail your closing completely. 

Singin' the blues over more changes heading your way?

If you are not sure about the addition of trended data on mortgage credit reports, how it affects you, and how to deal with it, take heart! The reality is that mortgage credit trended data is a shockwave to the industry, and is causing even more changes for mortgage originators who have already been handed their fair share (TRID, anyone?).

We have scoured our mortgage lending services sources to answer some of the biggest, most common questions about trended data information...

Mortgage Trigger Data is created when a borrower fills out a 1003 (mortgage application), and has their credit report pulled. This creates a credit inquiry event which is flagged on the borrower’s credit record.

The credit bureaus aggregate all of the flagged records on a daily basis and make the information available to paying marketers as a “trigger” file within 24-48 hours of the original mortgage application.  YIKES!  And yes, in case you are wondering, this is a totally legal practice.

If you’ve recently checked your FICO credit scores (Equifax, Experian and Transunion), you may have noticed that your credit score varies between the three. After thoroughly reviewing your credit report, you may be asking yourself, “Why are my 3 FICO credit scores different?”

In the unfortunate event that you get a divorce, worrying about your credit score may be the last thing on your mind. However, even during the most trying times of our lives, the world keeps spinning and the fact is, divorce can greatly impact your finances and credit history.  With close to 50% of all marriages ending in divorce, and divorce finalization taking close to 1 year to complete, protecting your credit along the way is critical to your financial future. 

Below are some helpful tips on how to get thru a divorce without damaging your credit.

You are ready to tackle your bad credit and you want to increase your credit score so you just ordered your credit report. But, if you are like most people, you have a hard time understanding what your credit report means let alone interpreting all of the information it contains.