1 in 3 Homebuyers Say They Will Drop Their Mortgage Lender Over This Issue

The major credit-scoring agencies say they're getting with the times, and are urging mortgage lenders to come with them.A study commissioned by Experian earlier this summer showed 1 in 3 prospective homebuyers would walk away from a lender who relied only on older credit-reporting models that don't factor in a history of on-time rent and utilities payments.At a meeting of mortgage business leaders on Tuesday outside of Washington, DC, experts from the credit-reporting agencies said the industry needs to evolve to better account for customers' modern financial habits.This year the government encouraged wider use of FICO's 10T and VantageScore 4.0, which take into account rental history, utilities payments, and other factors.It's a change from longstanding government preference—which banks have followed—for more traditional payment history, which exclude them. Instead, traditional credit scores reflect payments of things like cars, credit cards, and mortgages.At a conference held by the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization, which is a part of the Mortgage Bankers Association dealing with mortgage information and business standards, leaders encouraged banks to evolve. ...