The widening credit score gap between the average consumer and homebuyer reflects better consumer awareness of how credit scores work contrasted against growing uncertainty about what it takes to qualify for a mortgage that’s keeping many would-be homeowners on the sidelines.
In terms of mortgage access, lenders shouldn’t be looking at anything in isolation in 2018. Though credit is an important aspect in determining the financial character of borrowers and their ability to pay, it’s not enough to fully capture them.
“You can’t just lend on a credit score because it is reflective of past behavior. You have to look at the whole borrower and that’s where data aggregation comes in. Ten years ago, we had much more limited ability to collect all of these other little data sets that you need to get a really three dimensional picture of the borrower,” said Ann Fulmer, chief strategy and industry relations manager at FormFree Holdings Corp.
This is an excerpt. Read full coverage in National Mortgage News.
