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A Small Oversight: To Buy a House, You Have To Pay Your Bills
by Realty Times Staff
In a stunning report issued by Fannie Mae this week, "just two in five Americans understand that chronic failure to pay bills on time would be a major problem in qualifying for a mortgage, while half of all adults say such behavior would be a minor problem or no problem at all." The surprising result emerged as part of a homebuyer survey to determine what factors first time homebuyers thought would be obstacles to their owning a home. "At a time when every single previously cited obstacle to homeownership has receded to record low levels, failure to understand the relationship between paying bills on time and being able to qualify for a home mortgage has emerged as a new barrier to homeownership," said Fannie Mae. Overall, the survey "shows a high degree of consumer confidence, and a high degree of consumer satisfaction with the mortgage process," said Fannie Mae CEO Franklin Raines. "But a shadow falling across the otherwise positive news is how many Americans don't fully comprehend the relationship between paying bills late, having bad credit, and experiencing difficulties in qualifying for a mortgage. This is a problem the mortgage industry needs to address." A spokesman for Fannie Mae in Washington said the researchers were shocked at the findings. "It was a complete surprise to us and we're at a loss to come up with an explanation," he said. "And it was across the board. The answers were about the same regarless of sex, education, income, race or any other characteristic." The spokesman dismissed the idea that the real estate and mortgage communities had made it "too easy" to buy a home or even conveyed through marketing or seminars that anybody can buy a house these days regardless of credit record. "I wouldn't go that far. I don't think we've sent that message out," he said. "But obviously there is some education that is lacking." The survey found that all other perceived obstacles were in decline.
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Published: July 28, 1999 Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws. |
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30 Year Fixed: 3.87% 15 Year Fixed: 3.16% 1 Year Adj: 2.78% (U.S. Weekly Averages) Today's Headlines 07/28/1999 12:00:00 AM
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