Banker helps clients with no credit score, foreclosure

Mortgage banker: Patricia Leary

Property type: Single-family home in West Haven

Purchase price: $212,000.

Loan amount: $169,600.

Appraised value: $213,000.

Loan type: Conventional.

Backstory: Leary often works with buyers who have special circumstances. Leary received a call from a couple who wanted to get pre-qualified to purchase a new home. Leary set up a time to meet with the couple.

Leary’s meeting with the buyers on Feb. 19 revealed that the wife had a previous foreclosure.

In that case, the underwriter goes off of the foreclosure date listed on the credit report. Leary next asked for the information needed to look at their credit reports to see how the foreclosure was listed as well as the credit scores to credit qualify the couple.

Upon looking at the full credit report, she found out that the foreclosure was more than 4 years old so the couple could receive conventional financing. Leary then noted that they only had one score each and that was with Experian.

Leary then went over the amount saved for their down payment and closing costs and calculated that they had enough to put 20 percent down on the purchase. She then ran the loan on the desk-top underwriting program and received an approve eligible.

Leary then issued a pre-qualification letter to the couple so that they could start looking for a property to purchase. The couple came to contract on May 9.

Because the credit was old and the interest rate is based on credit scores, Leary re-pulled the couple’s credit to see if the score would be better and also because the closing date on the contract was June 29.

Leary soon found out that the couple now had no credit score and one was required to move forward with the mortgage. On comparing the two credit reports, Leary realized that United Illuminating and Southern CT Gas were not listed as open accounts any longer on the credit report.

Upon finding this out, Leary called both companies and found out that as of April 1, they were no longer reporting to the credit bureaus.

Leary spoke with her underwriter who looked at the original credit and said we could use that report if they closed by June 15. Leary then called the buyers’ Realtor and told her of the situation. The Realtor got everyone on board to close on June 15,

Leary then found out that there were solar panels on the home and they were leased. In this case, the lease has to be transferred to the new owner. The buyers in this case have to be credit approved to have the lease transferred into their names.

One of the guidelines of the transfer was that the couple had to have a 640 credit score or better with Experian. Leary then looked at the credit report that she had and the one score was with Experian.

If the solar company went to pull the couple’s credit, there would be no score. Leary then reached out to both the sellers and buyers’ attorney and found out that it would be the seller’s attorney who would handle the transfer of the lease.

Leary told them that to make this transfer, the solar company would have to use the credit report that she had. Leary found out the week before closing that the solar company would use the credit she had because it was the credit used to procure the mortgage.

The couple closed on time and all involved were happy.