United Wholesale Mortgage announced that it will cover the upfront cost of hard credit pulls for its partners.
“UWM will always do what’s right for our broker partners,” UWM President and CEO Mat Ishbia said. “We’re excited to offer credit reports at no cost to our UWM partners so they can focus on scaling their business and better serving their borrowers without the worry of increasing credit report charges.”
The cost of pulling credit reports increased this year.
Fair Isaac Corp. (FICO), the company that retains the rights to the methodology used to measure consumer credit risk, is charging one price, higher than the one in 2023, to all mortgage lenders, regardless of volume.
FICO collects approximately $10 total for all three scores out of a $50 (or more) tri-merge report. That means that prices are about $50 to $100 depending on the credit reporting agency.
Credit reports provide brokers with a comprehensive overview of credit scores, payment history, and outstanding debts. However, the rising costs associated with accessing these reports have become a burden for mortgage brokers, especially those from smaller shops.
Last year, Rocket Pro TPO initiated a similar program.
The other Michigan-based company provides free credit reports to brokers if they get their loan closed with the Detroit lender.
The rules for UWM's program are the same. The company says the credit report must be ordered within UWM’s system for UWM to pull and cover the cost of the upfront credit pull and if the loan doesn’t close, the cost will be covered by UWM. However, if the loan does close, UWM will recoup the cost from the borrower in the closing disclosure.
