The Washington Post has a must-read article online today about credit bureaus sharing mortgage application data with competing lenders. Apparently, lenders nationwide can access data about people who have applied for a mortgage within the last 24-hours. These competing lenders can then contact you with an offer or alternative deal. The plus side is that you may receive a last minute offer that helps you negotiate a better deal with your lender. The downside is that your data might be shared without your permission.
Read the full article about credit bureaus and loan applications online here and then weigh in with your opinion in the comments section below. Do you think this policy is okay? Do you think you should be able to "opt-out" of the data sharing?
{ 3 comments… add a comment }
We bought a house just 3 months ago. We did receive a handful of mailings from mortgage companies touting ‘better’ deals. But no phone calls. We’re on the do not call list in our state as well as the federal list. We also, recently, opted out of any promotional offers that require credit checks without our permission.
I think people need to be smarter about how they handle phone calls, junk mail, and junk email. That’s where these sleeze bags come in and take advantage of the uninformed consumer. Nothing in that article surprised me.
Thanks for sharing your experiences, Emma! Since I am not a homeowner, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish what is and is not true when it comes to real estate news. Sounds like this article is accurate!
I think consumers need to educate themselves on these issues. These companies aren’t doing anything illegal, they are operating well within regulations. Sure, we can create legislation to stop this kind of thing, but we also need to handle ourselves properly and take care of our business. Our last resort is government intervention, not first.
We should take a look at the laws in place for collection agencies. They don’t even care what’s legal and what’s not. And they can get away with some of their collection tactics. Why? Because the majority of consumers don’t know the law.