Manufactured housing “street” or “community” retailers know how important credit scores can be for getting financing for would be customers. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), related federal or state licensing and regulatory standards have been making it tougher for sellers to communicate with consumers. Regs can also make it challenging for MH lenders to share info to home sellers without consumer permission.

Are there overlooked options for home sellers?  Maybe so.

Online access to credit reports for consumers took another step ahead recently. Annamaria Andriotis, from the Wall Street Journal  blog, tells MHProNews  that free credit report access for consumers pulling their own records are easier today than previously.

Further, say experts, when consumers access their own credit, it is a “soft inquiry” that doesn’t impact the prospective buyer’s credit score.

The Credit Karma website began allowing users to check their full report from TransUnion as well as their Equifax report. Androtis says, “By law, consumers can receive a free credit report from each of the three big firms every 12 months, by going to annualcreditreport.com.”

Additionally, competing sites “CreditSesame.com and Quizzle.com, for example, allow users to access their credit report from Experian, another of the big three credit-reporting firms, and Equifax, respectively for free.”

A variety of scenarios could be envisaged where a consumer might be given access to a computer and printer in a MH seller’s office. The prospective customer could then generate their own report, which could with proper authorization be shown by the consumer to a sales person.

It would be wise to double check with your state association or legal counsel on specific ways this might be done to stay on the correct side of the regulatory lines. But the opportunity to do something like this properly could be useful to all involved.  ##

(Photo credit: iStock/Wall Street Journal)