New requirements for credit report checks worry mortgage lenders

When Fannie Mae announced it would require a second check of a consumer’s credit score before it would allow them to close on a mortgage, it may have given Americans some cause for concern.

According to a new report from the Washington Post, it wasn’t just consumers who were worried. Mortgage lenders, too, say that this new requirement is causing logistical nightmares that are slowing home sales at a time when the housing market is as bad as it’s been in over a decade. They say even small, short-term debts can affect a consumer’s credit report enough to cause them to be rejected.

The report said Fannie Mae is now already reviewing its policy thanks to the flood of feedback from lenders, and will offer new guidance by the end of July. The company also noted that it didn’t intend to actually require the second credit reports, but to merely emphasize existing policies related to due diligence.

According to a report in the Chicago Tribune, Fannie Mae also recently tightened restrictions for appraisals of single-family homes because of a number of questionable loans recently given out by lenders.