Answer
Past credit performance serves as the most useful guide in determining a borrower's attitude toward credit obligations and predicting a borrower's future actions. A borrower who has made payments on previous and current obligations in a timely manner represents reduced risk.

Conversely, if the credit history, despite adequate income to support obligations, reflects continuous slow payments, judgments, and delinquent accounts, strong compensating factors will be necessary to approve the loan.

When analyzing a borrower's credit history, examine the overall pattern of credit behavior, rather than isolated occurrences of unsatisfactory or slow payments. A period of financial difficulty in the past does not necessarily make the risk unacceptable if the borrower has maintained a good payment record for a considerable time period since the difficulty.

When delinquent accounts are revealed, the lender must document their analysis as to whether the late payments were based on a disregard for financial obligations, an inability to manage debt, or factors beyond the control of the borrower, including delayed mail delivery or disputes with creditors.

While minor derogatory information occurring two or more years in the past does not require explanation, major indications of derogatory credit-including judgments, collections, and any other recent credit problems-require sufficient written explanation from the borrower. The borrower's explanation must make sense and be consistent with other credit information in the file.

Neither the lack of credit history nor the borrower's decision not to use credit may be used as a basis for rejecting the loan application. We also recognize that some prospective borrowers may not have an established credit history.

For those borrowers, and for those who do not use traditional credit, the lender must develop a credit history from utility payment records, rental payments, automobile insurance payments, or other means of direct access from the credit provider. The lender must document that the providers of non-traditional credit do, in fact, exist and verify the credit information. Documents confirming the existence of a non-traditional credit provider may include a public record from the state, county, or city records, or other means providing a similar level of objective confirmation.

To verify the credit information, lenders must use a published address or telephone number for that creditor. As an alternative, the lender may elect to use a non-traditional mortgage credit report developed by a credit-reporting agency, provided that the credit reporting agency has verified the existence of the credit providers and the lender verifies that the non-traditional credit was extended to the applicant. The lender must verify the credit using a published address or telephone number to make that verification. The basic hierarchy of credit evaluation is the manner of payments made on previous housing expenses, including utilities, followed by the payment history of installment debts, and then revolving accounts.

Generally, an individual with no late housing or installment debt payments should be considered as having an acceptable credit history, unless there is major derogatory credit on his or her revolving accounts. For more information regarding analyzing the credit report, see HUD Handbook HUD Handbook 4155.1 .