With home prices and interest rates at historic lows, many people are looking to take their first step into homeownership. In today’s challenging economy, many first-time homebuyers struggle with credit challenges. One often-seen challenge is accounts on credit reports that have already been rectified. These are accounts that have been settled by the homebuyer, but have not been removed from their credit report by the creditor. If you, or someone you know, are struggling with this same problem, below are a few of our mortgage loan originators who see these issues on a consistent basis, and their suggestions on how you can work to have these items removed from your credit report.

These outstanding accounts on your credit report can cause roadblocks in purchasing your dream home. If you have any questions on home financing, and how VITEK can help you purchase your dream home, contact one of our mortgage loan originators today.

	I have a client who states that he contacted the bureaus directly (yes, the bureaus) and relentlessly. When we started he had two disputed accounts and now, zero! Jessica Robinson
	Get on the phone with the creditors. Demand a letter stating that the accounts are no longer in dispute. Its not easy. Insist on talking with a manager if they won’t do it for you. One other thing, you must have the borrower on the phone with you initially. They can usually authorize you for 24 hours. John Easterbrook
	Are they disputed accounts? If so, my client called her creditor and asked them to remove the disputed status of the account. The creditor wrote a letter to the bureaus taking the account out of dispute, and they sent a copy of their letter to the borrower, which she received about 3 days later. I sent that in to score plus, they contacted the creditors to verify status and another 3-4 days after that we had a new credit report with no disputed accounts! Vicki Fargo
	Pray to the man above that those creditors will write you a letter stating that the accounts are current and that they are no longer being disputed. A creditor wouldn’t give my client a letter and it prevented them from getting a home loan. Johnathan Hudak
	Unfortunately, get ready to hurry up and wait. The credit bureau requires a letter from the creditor that the account is no longer in dispute and that these words will be removed from all three bureau’s. The letter works well with Equifax and Experian but Trans Union puts the account under investigation. This process took me three tries and six weeks. Equifax and Experian rescore can be accomplished in 7-10 days, maybe sooner by CBC, but the Trans Union process is a waiting game.I believe the reason it took so long is because my borrower kept calling the creditor and disputing the dispute. Just do it once and wait. CBC will keep checking for you. Seriously a pain, but we finally closed yesterday. Good luck! Mary Westphal