General Requirements

Credit reports must meet the following general requirements:

• The report must include both credit and public record information for each locality in which the borrower has resided during the most recent two-year period. If the underwriter relies on credit reports from foreign countries to document borrower credit histories, the credit report must meet the requirements and standards for domestic reports, and must be completed in English or include an English translation. (Determining the Credit Score for a Mortgage Loan for information about credit scores in foreign credit reports.)

• The report must include all discovered credit and legal information that is not considered obsolete under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Although the Fair Credit Reporting Act currently specifies that credit information is not considered obsolete until after seven years, and bankruptcy information after ten years, Homium requires only a seven-year history to be reviewed for all credit and public record information.

• The report must be an original report, with no erasures, white-outs, or alterations.

• The report must include the full name, address, and telephone number of the credit reporting agency, as well as the names of the national repositories that the agency used to provide information for the report.

• The credit reporting agency must make responsive statements about all items on the credit report—indicating “unable to verify” or “employer refused to verify,” when appropriate.