Establishing and Maintaining Sufficient Active Credit to qualify for a mortgage

• To qualify for a mortgage you must have at least 2 credit cards or personal lines of credit (PLC) or other type of acceptable credit with a minimum limit of $2,500 and must use those credit facilities for at least 2 full years.
• If your existing credit cards have lower limits, then apply to have those limits increased to at least the above limit.
• Use the credit cards consistently and try to keep all outstanding balances to no more than 65% of the credit limit (this 65% guideline applies to LOCs also).
• Always pay all outstanding balances on time every month, not even one day late and do not miss any payments.
•  For those who do have not yet achieved the above some lenders will allow the use of alternative credit sources. See examples below:
  • Rental History – 12 months proof of payment and letter from landlord
  • Utilities: power, gas, water, cable, cell phone: letter confirming payments made as agreed
  • Auto Insurance: letter confirming payments made as agreed
  • Health / Life Insurance – as long as it’s not auto-deducted from paycheque

On How to Establish or Re-build Credit

You need at least 2 types of credit for 2 years from discharge of Bankruptcy, each with a minimum limit of $2,500 (the higher the better) and always paid on time every month with zero late payments.

• You must have at least 2 credit cards (or loan or Personal Line of Credit (PLC) or other type of acceptable credit facility) and use those credit facilities for at least 2 full years.
• Each Credit Facility should have a minimum credit limit of $2,500.
• If your existing credit facilities have lower limits, then apply to have those limits increased to at least the $2,500 limit.
• Applicants need to use the cards consistently and try to keep all outstanding balances to no more than 65% of the credit limit (this includes LOCs).
• Always pay all outstanding balances on time every month, not even one day late and do not miss any payments.
• Applicants need to use the credit cards and PLCs consistently and try to keep all outstanding balances to no more than 65% of the credit limit.
• You may think that by obtaining a supplementary card on your spouse’s credit card will help you create your credit rating, however this is not the case.  To start your own credit report apply for a credit card on your own.
• RRSP lines of credit or loans are great because not only are establishing or rebuilding your credit but you are investing in your financial future.

If you cannot currently obtain a standard credit card, you can substitute a secured credit card, as follows:

• You can apply for a secured credit card if you are unable to obtain a credit card from your financing institution.  I have attached a copy of an application and relating information from Home Trust, they have a secured credit card.  Go to http://www.hometrust.ca/securedvisa.aspx for more information.
• The Home Trust Secured Visa Card is a credit card that requires a security deposit for eligibility. The credit limit is then set at the amount of the deposit you give them. You can put down as little as $500, or as much as $10,000.  Remember you should have a minimum limit of $2,500 on each credit facility, but you can work up to that over perhaps the first year.
• You can apply online for their credit card. Complete and submit to Home Trust as per their directions.

An Option to Ensure You ALWAYS Pay All Debts On Time

• Arrange with your bank to put all credit facilities (credit cards, LOCs, cell phone accounts, auto leases and loans, other loans, etc) on Pre-authorized Debit (PAD) so that they are paid each month on time without fail.
• Be sure to have over-draft protection on the account(s) used to fund these monthly payments on your debts. This is critically important.

On Checking and Monitoring your Credit

• It is normally easy to do this via your bank’s free credit management service.
• Or you can pull your own credit report:

• This is the first thing to do once you have read through this information.
• Read the ‘Keeping Track of Your Credit’ doc attached.
  • You can request your credit report for free using the attached Credit Report Request form, which will arrive by mail, or;
  • You can get it instantly online at no cost here but this report does not include the payment profile tables which are contained within your free Equifax Canada consumer credit report.

• If you prefer to monitor your credit via a third party here are two options:

• • Credit Karma

• • • Free to use.
    • Does not create a ‘hard pull’ on your credit (no impact on credit score).
    • Is a good source for your detailed Equifax credit report (Equifax is the dominant credit bureau in Canada).
    • You can drill down on each item.

• • Borrowell  Free to use.

• • • Does not create a ‘hard pull’ on your credit (no impact on credit score).
    • Is a good source for your detailed Equifax credit report.

Steps to disputing your credit report in Canada

• You have the right to explain or protest. Contact the credit reporting agency regarding their dispute resolution process. If you still do not agree with an item following the Agency’s investigation, TransUnion and Equifax websites inform you as to how you can add an explanatory statement to your report.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

How Long Does Information Stay on my Credit Report?

• Most types of negative information generally remain on your Equifax credit report for 6 years. Late payments remain on your credit report for up to 6 years from the date reported. Collections will remain on your report for up to 6 years. Judgements are debts you owe because of a court action and these will remain up  to 6 years.
• Secured Loans that were paid as agreed remain on your report for 6 years from the date filed.
• Closed accounts that were paid as agreed remain on your Equifax credit report for up to 10 years after they were reported as closed by the lender.
• Consumer Proposals will be removed from your credit report 3 years after you have paid it off or 6 years from the date it was filed, whichever comes first.
• Bankruptcy stays on your credit report for 6 after discharge or 7 years after the date filed without a discharge date.  If you have a second bankruptcy both will remain on the report for up to 14 years after the discharge dates.
• Banking Items such as NSF’s can remain on your Equifax report for up  to 6 years.

On Credit Counselling

• If you have experienced significant damage to your credit it is usually very helpful to enrol in a credit management and counselling program so that you gain the knowledge to re-build and maintain good credit and that you then use that knowledge to maintain the required credit management habits and practices.

About Your Credit Score

• It summarizes your credit worthiness.
• It plays a strong role for lenders to determine whether or not you could be approved for a mortgage, bank loan, credit card and so much more.
•  It tells lenders how likely you are to pay your bills on time because it reflects every credit card, loan payment and late payment you’ve ever made.
• It reveals any bankruptcy or credit problems you have experienced.
• Scores range from 300 to 900.  The higher the number, the better your credit is.
• You need to build your credit and aim for a score of at least 640 and preferably 680 in order to be approved with an “A” lender and qualify for lower interest rates.

Note- Credit scores on consumer credit reports will generally not mirror the Beacon Scores on the credit reports that Lenders and Mortgage Brokers receive, so don’t be alarmed if you pull your credit report and see a score that is somewhat different than we quoted on this report.  Also, scores will change depending on the exact amount owing on your various credit facilities as reported by your lenders to Equifax as at the date the credit report is pulled. This is something very difficult to ‘time’.

A specific number is assigned to you based on factors such as:

Factor	Weight
Payment History: Bankruptcy, late payments, collections and judgements.  Always paying your bills on time will raise your score.	35%
Current Debt/Amounts Owed: Amounts owed on accounts, outstanding balance in relation to the limit.  Keep your credit card balance below 65% of your allotted limit, ideally around 50%.  Don’t max out your credit cards.	30%
Length of Credit History: Time since account opened.  The longer you have been proving yourself as a reliable borrower, the higher your score will be.	15%
New Credit: The number of recent inquiries and the number of recently opened accounts.  Try to limit all new credit applications to those that you really need. Your score will be lowered if you have lot of companies viewing your credit in a short period of time.	10%
Types of Credit: Credit cards, mortgages, instalment loans or auto loans, to name a few, show a good mix of credit and could boost your score.	10%

 

On the current confusion around credit scores…

• There are several articles recently published on the issue of the credit score consumers see from various providers versus the credit score that Mortgage Brokers, Banks and Mortgage Lenders see.  Credit scores on consumer credit reports will generally not mirror the Beacon Scores on the credit reports that Lenders and Mortgage Brokers receive, so don’t be alarmed if you pull your credit report and see a score that is somewhat different than we quoted on this report.
• Also, scores will change depending on the exact amount owing on your various credit facilities as reported by your lenders to Equifax as at the date the credit report is pulled.  This is something very difficult to ‘time’.
• The below is the most succinct explanation on the why that I could find, taken from RateSpy.com

Why Don’t the Credit Scores I see match what my Mortgage Broker sees?

There’s a problem with the current crop of free credit score providers.  The scores they give you are sometimes over 50 points different from the scores mortgage lenders see.  That’s a serious problem for some mortgage shoppers because it sets misleading expectations.  Someone may see their “free” score as 650, for example, only to learn their lender-obtained score is in the high 500s, preventing them from qualifying for cost-effective financing with a prime lender.  Free score providers don’t advertise this fault.

What’s more, lenders use too many different scores.  There’s no dominant industry standard. Some use “ERS” scores (Equifax’s proprietary score), some use “CreditVision” scores (TransUnion’s proprietary score), some use FICO 4, some use FICO 8 and so on.  The closest thing to a mortgage standard is arguably the FICO 8.  It includes mortgage accounts and cell provider accounts (some scores don’t), it’s a score commonly used by mortgage brokers and it’s adopted by numerous lenders.

Unfortunately, nobody offers it to consumers, despite it being available for licensing.  It’s time for that to change.  It’s time for companies hawking partly useful free scores (the Mogos, Borrowells and Credit Karmas of the world) to offer a more practical score.  For mortgage purposes, FICO 8 is best of breed.

https://www.ratespy.com/cmhc-bearish-on-home-prices-but-062314491

But For now your best option is to sign up to your bank’s free credit management service. From there you will be able to see your credit score and report.

And…you can check if you have anything in collections by reviewing your credit report at www.equifax.ca/personal  or phone +1 (800) 465-7166. You can obtain your free credit report by phone or by mail (Equifax Canada Co. National Consumer Relations at Box 190 Montreal QC H1S 2Z2 or fax at (514) 355-8502).

If you prefer to monitor your credit via a third party

For Canadian credit monitoring:

Credit Karma https://www.creditkarma.ca/

1. 1. Free to use.
   2. Does not create a ‘hard pull’ on your credit (no impact on credit score).
   3. Is a good source for your detailed Equifax credit report (Equifax is the dominant credit bureau in Canada).
   4. You can drill down on each item.

Borrowell https://app.borrowell.com/#/public/login

1. 1. Free to use.
   2. Does not create a ‘hard pull’ on your credit (no impact on credit score).
   3. Is a good source for your detailed Equifax credit report.
   4. You can drill down on each item.

For USA credit monitoring:

Good – Credit Karma https://www.creditkarma.com/

1. 1. Free to use.
   2. Does not create a ‘hard pull’ on your credit (no impact on credit score).
   3. Shows both TransUnion and Equifax scores with basic credit reports.
   4. You can download their App for iOS or Android mobile devices.

Meh – Experian https://www.experian.com/

1. 1. The Experian Score and a basic Credit Report is free to see.
   2. Does not create a ‘hard pull’ on your credit (no impact on credit score).
   3. The TransUnion and Equifax reports costs $1 and doing this automatically registers you to a monthly ($24.99) a paid subscription, which you can manually cancel.
   4. Login page delivers the first of may upgrade pitches…I deleted our accounts.

Meh – Credit .com Credit.com

1. 1. Is really another door to Experian. All you get is the Vantage (Experian) score and various pitches for other credit products.
   2. Does not create a ‘hard pull’ on your credit (no impact on credit score).
   3. I deleted my account, and it was not easy to find where to do that…it required me to phone them and go through a long automated process.  Jeez…