Fannie Mae’s new Loan Quality Initiative (LQI) mandates went into effect on June 1, 2010. The changes are part of a new effort by mortgage giant Fannie Mae to cut down on slipshod underwriting by lenders and fraud by borrowers.

Fannie’s so-called “loan quality initiative” will require lenders not only to pull two credit reports for each mortgage transaction but to perform additional verifications of borrower occupancy plans for the property, Social Security numbers and Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers, among other changes. These last minute credit checks could result in a closing delay, pricing adjustment, or, worst, loan approval cancellation.

The last-minute credit report will be designed to find out whether a borrower has obtained — or even shopped for — new debt between the date of the loan application and the closing. If borrowers have made applications for credit of any type — for furnishings and appliances for the new house, a car, landscaping or a new credit card — the closing could be put on hold pending additional research by the lender.

If you’ve taken out new loans that are sizable enough to affect the debt-to-income ratio calculations used in your original mortgage approval, the deal could fall through. The added debt load could render you ineligible for the mortgage because you suddenly appear unable to handle the payments without a strain on your household budget.

Many lenders already pull second credit reports right before the closing, but the Fannie Mae mandate makes this mandatory across virtually all mortgage lenders and products sold on the secondary mortgage market. Borrowers should avoid obtaining or applying for new credit, or even increasing utilization of existing credit, before their closings. 

Feel free to call me if you would like more information on the new loan process, or if you want to learn more about owning a home Northern Virginia.