Credit Reports & Mortgages — What to Do with an Invisible Loan

Invisible mortgage: When your loan is not on your credit report

When you pay your mortgage on time, it shows that you can borrow and repay large amounts of money. In fact, many people count on mortgages to build and maintain good credit.

However, some people realize that their mortgage is not appearing in their credit report.

Reasons your mortgage is missing

It may seem odd that such a large loan would not show up on your credit report, but it occurs more often than you probably realize. According to sources, there are several reasons why your mortgage may not appear on your credit report, including:

• Lender not reporting: Some mortgage lenders - especially smaller firms - do not always report mortgages to the credit bureaus, unless there is a problem. This means, your good payment history will not show up, but any late or missed or late payments could appear.
• Clerical errors: Mistakes happen. A human or computer error could cause your mortgage from not appearing. All it takes is an error on one digit of your Social Security number or any other small mistake that can keep your mortgage from the report.
• Non-traditional financing: If you borrow directly from and are paying your home's previous owner (rent-to-own agreement) or if you use some other form of non-traditional lending, your mortgage most likely will not appear on your credit report.
• Bankruptcy: Filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy wipes out all debt allowed by federal law. If a reaffirmation agreement is not signed, your mortgage may not appear on your credit report.
• Delay in reporting: It typically takes 30 to 60 days after you sign your mortgage paperwork for it to appear on our credit report. Processing delays during busy seasons could delay this even longer.
• Name not on mortgage: If you and your spouse bought a home, but only your spouse's name appears on the mortgage for financing reasons, the mortgage will not appear on your credit report.

Can you correct this?

If your mortgage is not appearing on your credit report, you might be able to get it added. You cannot submit your mortgage yourself, but you can check for clerical errors and ask your lender to correct them.

If your lender does not report your mortgage to any of the credit bureaus, you cannot force them to do so. However, if you are trying to get a new mortgage, you can present your prospective lender with evidence of the loan and your payment history.

Not sure if your mortgage appears on our credit report? Sign up for a IdentitySecure membership today. You can check all three credit reports and get daily credit monitoring.