The Manufactured Housing Forums

I have two questions; The first concerns credit scores. I went on line today to check my credit report and get my credit scores. On Trans Union and Experian I got scores of 880 and 885 and noticed that their highest scores run up to about 990.
Equifax gave me a great score of 793 and I noticed their maximum score only runs to 850. So the question is, why does Equifax use a different score range than the other two.

My second question has to do with mortgage brokers. How do they get paid? Isn't it better to go directly to a mortgage lender rather than go through a broker?

The wife and I want to get the process of getting our MH in August. We have been searching for years, have decided on the brand, located a reputable dealer, and purchased our land (zoned for MH). Now we would like to get "pre-approved" for a loan before going to the dealer to pick out our dream retirement home.

Thanks in advance for the input.

Credit Scores are VERY confusing..There are many credit score models..Unfortunately some of the scores that are sold by the CB's are useless such as the 2 you mentioned.These are called PLUS scores by Experian and another name by TU...They are NOT used by any lender in the mortgage business..The ONLY scores actually used by most lenders is the FICO Score (Invented and sold by Fair Isaac COpany)...The best place to get accurate scores that are actually used is from Fair Isaac.

The web site for them is www.myfico.com There is loads of credit score info there..The following is from there:

"FICO® scores are your credit rating
They range from 300-850, higher is better
Most lenders base approval on them
Higher scores mean lower interest rates
FICO® scores are calculated based on your rating in five general categories:
Payment history - 35%
Amounts owed - 30%
Length of credit history - 15%
New credit - 10%
Types of credit used - 10%
We’re the inventor of the FICO® score
We’re the only site offering all 3 of your FICO® scores
The median FICO® score in the U.S. is 723 "

Looks like Equifax sold you an actual FICO score. If you are a 793 there, you are in the elite preferred group of buyers.

In theory FICO score would all be the same in every CB but since info varies between them, so will the scores. Mortgage lenders do not have a favorite CB..They base their decisions and rates on the middle score of the 3...

Mortgage Brokers are paid a percentage of the fees involved with the mortgage and the can sell the money at a higher rate than the lowest and get paid fee for that..But lenders usually charge the same fees..Example I will give you, I recently refinanced my home and shopped directly with Wacovia Mortgage (my primary bank) and a broker friend..My broker friend sold me the money at a lower rate and with lower fees than Wacovia offered and he sold the mortgage to Wacovia..I got my mortgage with Wacovia but for less money than they would have charged..Huge lenders like them treat their mortgage departments as separate profit centers ( with cxommissioned sales persons) and they have to charge just as much as the broker..But my $100,000 amount was VERY small and they held the fess higher to cover the low amount..I even had a few large lenders refuse to consider it because it did not meet their $160,000 minimum loan amount..

Do not be afraid to submit you info for lenders to the loan finder service on this web site. You should get replies from lenders who specialize in manufactuered home...Most important move ahead soon..rates have been rising in the last few weeks and will probably continue to do so..Time is money..GO FOR IT

Thanks for the explanation Murray. I'll submit my information in a couple of days. I've also purchased the updated edition of Grissom's book. I've read the old edition
but need to "arm" myself with the latest information.

You will have more knowledge than most sales persons you meet...GOOD LUCK

In a nutshell,regarding the credit scores, Don't think about it anymore!
On a scale of 1-10, 10 being best, you're awfully close to an 11. In my 10 years as a Realtor, I have yet to meet anybody that completely understands the scoring model. We all know that it is based on amount of debt, amount of credit available vs. used, number of inquiries in a given period of time (to a small extent), and age of credit history. Consistency is always the key; it seems that one late payment will have a larger derogatory effect than the positive affect caused by 2 dozen on-time payments.

As far as your manufactured home purchase, I have some useful information (I hope) on my website which I will list at the bottom.

Finally, I WOULD LOVE to be stumped by questions that are straight out of Grissoms book. I pride myself on beind very knowledgeable, but have not yet read his publication. While I think I'm much more knowledgeable than others in the industry, I'd love to find out what I don't know.