Home Mortgage? Can You Get Preapproved For a home Mortgage?
Act quick: Start by contacting the company that reported the late payment and explain the situation. Perhaps you thought you made the payment, but there was an online bill error. Or maybe it was an honest mistake on your part and you didn't pay the bill in full. Regardless of who – or what – is at fault, come clean and explain the situation. You may even choose to enact a one-time goodwill intervention, where a company will review the case, analyze your credit and make the call on whether or not to reverse the decision. Remember, lenders want to keep your business, so if you work together with them, your chances are good.
Contact the credit reporting agencies: If you don't get anywhere with the lender, consider writing the credit reporting agencies. Explain the scenario to them, and they'll conduct a 30-day investigation to determine whether or not the lender's decision should be reversed. This method may take a little longer than working with the lender, but if the agency rules in your favor, it can help improve your FICO score to the point where you can get preapproved.
Unfortunately, some mortgage consumers don't have great credit and won't be able to fix their issues by contacting either their lender or the credit reporting agencies to have the issue resolved. If this is the case, the consumer's best bet is to start establishing good financial behavior. This includes making on time payments and keeping low balances on credit cards, just to name a few.