Requirements

• Several things are required for a mortgage credit report to be valid. The original report must be issued by a professional consumer-reporting agency with no alterations. The report also must be understandable by a layperson. The report has to include the name, address and phone number of the agency. Also the mortgage credit report must list any inquiries occurring in the last 90 days. Finally, a mortgage credit report should provide certification that it meets standards set forth by HUD, VA, Farmers Home Administration (FmHA), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
  
  

Credit Information

• Pertinent information about the creditor such as the creditor's name, status of account, required payment, payment history, date account opened and the unpaid balance is included. In addition, the report lists the number of times the account was past due. It is not suitable to use terms such as "current', "as agreed" or "satisfactory" to describe the status of the accounts.
  
  

Age of Information

• The information included in the report is up to 7 years old. Any reports that have collected information for less than seven years are not acceptable. In addition, the report provides the last updated account date with the creditor. Finally, the creditor must have verified any account that has a balance within the last 90 days
  
  

Interviews

• A credit agency needs to verify the applicant's current employment and income, if possible. It is acceptable to make this verification by telephone. The report should include an affirmative statement that employment was verified and on what date. If an applicant has been at his job for fewer than two years, the report must identify the applicant's previous employment and income or provide an explanation on why the information could not be obtained. The credit agency may also have to interview the subject of the report to obtain any missing or undisclosed required information.
  
  

Legal Information

• The mortgage credit report also includes any available public records, including judgments, tax liens, bankruptcies and/or foreclosures. It is important that consumer agencies only obtain public record information from reputable sources meeting government agency requirements. Credit repositories, court records or public-records search firms are all valid sources. Once an undisclosed public record is found, additional research is necessary to substantiate the public record's existence.