If you ever shopped at Target or Neiman Marcus – you could be affected. Mortgage credit experts warn that massive data breaches at Target, Neiman Marcus and other retailers could have a significant side impacts on some real estate transactions in the coming months, as damaged credit files depress scores and jeopardize loan applications and home sales.
Let’s say you have a great credit score – 740+. Your lender is happy to give you a loan approval so you can move forward with buying your Arlington dream home. You ratify a contract and all is going wonderful. A few days before closing your lender will check your credit again to find that your score is not even in 600’s – there is no way you are getting a loan, not until your credit report is be cleaned up. That means no house, that means you potentially might loose your Earnest Money Deposit if the financing contingency has been removed. Would this situation create a lot of stress in your life? You bet.
If you are house hunting it would be great for you to use a credit monitoring service like Mint Credit Monitor, Credit Carma.That way you can detect any changes as soon as possible.
You can read an article by Kenneth R. Harney about this issue in Washington Post.