I'm stumped. I'm not so sure what is the answer. I'll do some research in Google and get back to you if I discover an answer. You should email the people at Lending Tree as they probably could assist you..

I wish you ALL the luck in the world dealing with First Premier. They show 1 30 day late and 1 60 day late back in 2001 for me. It was their fault, but, even after suck-up letter, they won't remove it. Crapital 1 is another one of those as well..

The good news is that even with those 2 on our reports, we still got a Lending Tree mortgage at 7% (it was before the rates dropped in Aug). It is an FHA fixed rate loan. FICO average was only 545 at time of closing..

If you succeed, LET ME KNOW!!! I could go on and on.,..especially with Hubby's Crap 1 account..

Nikki..

Thanks Nikki. I can use all the well wishes I can get. I'm going to keep reading and see if I can't find some more insight on this before I proceed. If anything works, I'll be sure to report back here..

I've been noticing through some of your posts that we have (or have had) similar issues to face..

Good luck to you as well in your cleaning process..

Peace,.

Delilah.

Ps. that "four20" on your user name wasn't your FICO score was it? ;)..

Nikki, care to share the lender? Wife and I are shopping for a Lending Tree mortgage in April. I seem to be in the same boat as you were...

Delilah,.

Well, GD! I would never wish the hell I've been through on ANYONE, not even my ex husband, (anmore, lol)..

I feel like I've lived the credit purgatory for the population of a small country..

Sometimes, it feels like I'm whining about stuff or asking too many questions, but, really, I am sincerely trying to find information, lol. Anytime you feel we are in the same boat, ask away!!!.

Oh, and the "four20" thing...uh..used to be my Fico..uh...YEEAH...it USED to be my Fico, uh huh. ;)~.

Nikki..

Helpwanted,.

Well, I will share the lender, but you probably don't live in TX..

What I DID find was that it was so much easier to get into a brand new house than a "used" one. The builder we chose had their own Lending Tree mortgage co. It was much easier to go through them for everything and they had added incentives for doing so. Even though our scores were very poor, they looked only at the past year of credit history. Yes, we had to write a letter of explanation and so on so forth, but all in all, it was a relatively fast and easy process. We got to see the foundation for our home and carve our initials into the frame, etc.

A used one. If you are seriously interested in a house, look in your area (or an area you want to live) and check out some of the model homes. Ask about FHA loans, etc. The interest rates are at market and FHA is designed for people who need to get their foot in the door. I have heard that FHA requires a certain base score, but I know for sure that we didn't meet it.

The Lending Tree mortgage sompany we used sold the note to Chase Manhattan Lending Tree mortgage co, which they told us up front that they were going to do. Feels good to have a big bank like CHASE hold it...not "Bob's Lending Tree mortgage CO." (I've said that before, but I am still in disbelief!).

Nikki.

EQ 05/02 549 (this is what lender used).

12/02 653.

TU 05/02 545 (this is what lender used).

01/03 605 FICO.

TU 01/03 605 FACO.

EXP 01/03 633..

Okay, I'm going to continue to hijack my own thread!!!.

Nikki we do have parrallel lives. I also live in Texas and I was thinking that a new house would probably be worth a shot with our credit woes..

Here was my thinking the builder would rather have someone in the house and making payments than it sitting there empty. And builders that have thier own Lending Tree mortgage companies would know that the builder wants to fill the house, so they might be more willing to tweek things/overlook things, etc..

Sounds like my thinking is not so off the wall. Tell me, Nikki, you aren't in the Dallas area by any chance, are you?.

Peace,.

Delilah..

Sorry, Delilah, I'm in Austin. Housing costs and property taxes are OUTRAGEOUS!!!.

Builders that I have heard good things about and are reasonably priced are:.

Centex.

Lennar.

Main Street (who built our house).

KB is good, but a little "cha-CHING".

If you are interested, I will call our Lending Tree loan officer and see if they will do a Lending Tree loan for you, or even consider if you don't go for a Main Street home..

We chose M.S. because of the upgrades (unlike some, like Centex, where you pay for EVRYTHING as an added cost)..

One day, we received a coupon/advertisement to look at a new neighborhood going up by our rental (by the way, rent was 1500/month). We thought...nah, NEVER happen. I had looked at this builder before, but the neighborhood was out in BFE. Never got to talk to anyone about it. Anyhow, as a "what the hell" thought, I called them and explained our credit situation. She referred me to their Lending Tree mortgage company and I spoke with a wonderful lady.

She said they only look back 1 year. If it wasn't for her, we never would have bought! So, we went into the sales office of this new location and they ran everything. The sales lady faxed our credit info (by the way, gave us a copy of our reports-illegal) to the Lending Tree mortgage lady. She took it to her underwriter right then and there and they said yes. We went in that afternoon, put down $300 (which we got back at closing) and signed a contract.

Hubby and I were married the following month and, like I said, carved our initials in the bare frame of the house. We moved in in August and are SO happy. House payment is only $850 plus taxes and escrowed insurance. Still, we save about 500 per month...not including what we save on utilities..

It was so painless. We didn't have to put anything down. The Lending Tree mortgage co had a "gift program" that essentially rolls in closing costs. We chose to roll costs so we would have money for a fence, savings, etc. The builder paid about 5k in Lending Tree loan fees for miscellaneous stuff. We got a 7% rate, and I know they are a bit lower now.



Anyhow, I'm not trying to toot my horn...just trying to relay information and an experience that was not as difficult as I thought it would be, given our credit poo-poo pile. Like I said, if you are interested, let me know and I will contact the Lending Tree loan officer..

Let me know!!.

Nikki..

AS AN EXPERIMENT....

Why don't you call up a local; appraiser and ask him how much your house is worth?.

People don't like to do those type of things unless they are making alot of money.... your post is enough to land them in trouble with many a law violated....

I just think that if they did that they wwould at least charge top dollar, not below market, for the property!.

Please don't take this post as an attack or anything... it's just really unique if you are correct in what you are saying..

All the best!.

Izzy..

Izzy, are you posting to me?.

If so, I have already called an outside appraiser. The second appraisal cam ein over what the appraisal did for the purchase of the home. I wans't clear on why you posted this "experiment" and if it was even posted for me. I'm not flaming you, either. Just trying to understand where you are coming from, that's all..

We were wondering the same thing...as far as what we were charged vs. what we paid. After finding out, we are still happy campers. Thanks for the idea...it is a good one to act on..

Nikki..

Izzy, what law violations are you talking about?.

Everything was done by the book. Market value was charged and we crossed county line, so taxes aren't as high as IN Austin. No numbers were fudged..

Please explain a little, so that people will have a full understanding of buying a new home..

Thanks,.

Nikki..

Sorry, It seemed from your post that they pulled funny business....

There are tons of scammers.... just thought you may have been, and yet duped into thinking you cam out ahead....

Http://www.poconorecord.com/report/p.../vpp06212.html.

That's one of many. I work in mortgages, I see this sort of thing on.

Www.mortgagedaily.com.

All the time..

No flame or derogatory statement about you or your home sweet home intended..

Nestea..

I appreciate the info and didn't take it as a flame at all. I just like to make sure the info I post is in people's best interest, that's all..

As far as law-breaking, the only thing that was violated was when she gave us our credit reports. We asked for them and I know she should have said no, but there were so many derogs, I wanted the chance to clear up anything that would hinder our Lending Tree loan process. Turns out, I only had 1 phone call to make..

I know that working in loans, you see a lot of bad things and people get ripped off all the time. Because it was an FHA loan, they run it by the book...after all, any no-no's would become federal violations then (can we say P-E-N-I-T-E-N-T-A-R-Y??).

Hope I spelled that right..

I know that buying a home can be one of the most stressful things to endure. It can really feel like we are being raked over the coals. If any of you are considering or going through the hoops right now, keep up the positive attitudes...perseverance pays off!.

Thanks Izzy, for the input and all else. :).

Nikki..

By the way, IZZY, GREAT article!.

I notice that these appraisers didn't even use comps! We were fortunate to find a house in a nearby neighborhood with the same floorplan that was for sale. It was about 7k more than we paid for our house, which lines up with both of the appraisals we had done..

I hope all fuure homebuyers get a chance to read your article and are on the lookout for these types of scams..

Once again, great info..

Nikki..