The Changing Landscape of Credit Reporting — And What It Means for Homebuyers

This world is fascinating, and sometimes a little shocking. Greed has taken over in ways that are very different from the world I grew up in. I’ve been in this business for the better part of 35 years, and I’ve owned Augusta Financial for over 30 of those years. Things change, markets shift, and you learn to roll with the punches.

One of the biggest frustrations in the mortgage industry over the past few years has been trigger leads. At Augusta, we’ve protected our clients by using soft-pull credit reports to avoid trigger leads, and it’s worked well. But as many of you know, once we enter escrow, we pull a hard credit report, and our buyers suddenly get bombarded with calls from other lenders who purchased those trigger leads, and it annoys and confuses our clients.

The Good News

Beginning March 2026, TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian will finally be prohibited from selling trigger leads. No more Trigger leads is a massive win for consumers and for our industry. Or is it?

The Very Bad News

We just received updated pricing from our credit reporting companies, and the increases are… well, ugly.

To put this in perspective:

In the first 10 months of 2025, Augusta Financial spent $350,000 on credit reports and updates, yet collected less than $150,000. That's a bottom-line loss of over $200,000, which is money we absorbed because we’ve always tried to avoid charging clients upfront for credit reports.

Now, here are the new prices for 2026:

• Individual Tri merge: from $74.50 → $140.50
• Joint Tri merge: from $149.00 → $215.00
• Soft-Pull Tri merge: from $75.50 → $156.00

Yes, you read that correctly: We are seeing price increases of 50% to 100%.

And why?

Because the bureaus can no longer sell trigger leads, and this is essentially their "make-up" revenue. Their big FU to our industry.

A Little Perspective

When I opened Augusta Financial over 30 years ago, a joint 3-bureau trimerge credit report cost $12.

Next year it will cost $215.00

That is the equivalent of a 9.66% annual increase. You have to laugh to avoid crying.

Where Do We Go from Here?

We simply cannot absorb $400,000 in credit report costs in 2026. It's not sustainable for a mortgage company of our size.

So we're evaluating:

• Whether we will begin charging upfront for soft-pull reports
• Whether we adjust our credit fee at closing
• Whether we switch to alternative vendors (though prices are rising everywhere)
• How to balance fairness to the client with the reality of skyrocketing costs

Part of me believes that if someone is serious about buying a home, they won't balk at paying for a soft-pull upfront. On the other hand, will we lose business to lenders who charge $0 upfront but then hit buyers with a $375 fee at closing? Is that a better model?

I'm still working through how to explain to clients that what used to be a $5 report is now $156-$215. But this is where we are, and we’ll navigate it thoughtfully, just as we've always done.

I'd love to hear your thoughts, because these changes affect all of us in the real estate community. One thing I know for sure: we’ll continue doing everything possible to protect our clients, stay transparent, and adapt as the industry evolves.

Please let me know if you have any questions or if you or any of your clients, friends, or family members need my guidance. I’m just a call, text, or email away.

📞 Direct Line: 661-291-2222 – Text OK

📞 Cell: 661-714-6258 – Text OK

📞 Office: 661-260-2970 ext. 2222 – Text OK

📧 Email: Mike@AugustaFinancial.com

But wait, there’s more…

Interest Rates

Economic news is starting to hit, and it’s looking how it feels. CRAPPY! LOL! The good news is that inflation is under control for now, and interest rates are starting to return to where they were in September. We will see what twists and turns we will have along the way, but there is now a good chance that the Fed will cut rates in December, and we may start to see lower rates in 2026!

Loan Programs

• We do loans on Non-warrantable condos!
• We offer 12-day escrows for pre-approved buyers, including conventional, FHA/Jumbo/Bridge loans.
• We provide loans in all 50 states, so call me with anything you need.
• Government loans (FHA/VA/USDA) are in the 5s.
• Conventional loans up to $806,500 are in the high 5’s and low 6s.
• High-balance loans from $806,501 to $1,209,750 are also in the 6s.
• Jumbo loans above $1,209,750 are in the 6’s.
• ARMS in the 5’s and some in the 6’s
• Bank statement loans are available with 10% down again, with larger down payments in the 6’s++.
• Profit and Loss Statement loans require 20% down - no bank statements needed, only a profit and loss statement!
• 0 down loans are available in the high 6s, with a minimum credit score of 620, up to $1,300,000.
• Private Money lenders offer Hard Money Loans with 35% down.
• No-Ratio Loans require a 30% down payment.
• DSCR (Debt Service Coverage Ratio) loans are available with as little as 15% down.
• Bridge Loans typically have an interest rate of 7.99% with limited fees, helping you get where you need to go!
• 3/2/1 Buydowns, 2/1 Buydowns, and 1/0 Buydowns are available at great starting rates!

Please note that interest rates are subject to change without notice, and the information above reflects LA County Loan Limits.

**Good News for Condos:**   

Nothing New

**Bad News for Condos***     

Nothing New!

CONDO HELP!!!

If you have a listing or a buyer interested in a specific condo and are unsure whether it is warrantable or Non-warrantable, please call me, and we can look up Fannie’s list in real-time. We don’t know when something has changed, and it would be impossible to track everything day by day, but we don’t mind looking up a few items each day.

The full state of California’s naughty list has been added to: MikeMeena.com! See the link below:

https://mikemeena.com/non-warrantable-condos/

Let me know if you hear anything new about condos or townhouses.

I am available every day if you need anything.

📞 Direct Line: 661-291-2222 – Text OK

📞 Cell: 661-714-6258 – Text OK

📞 Office: 661-260-2970 ext. 2222 – Text OK

📧 Email: Mike@AugustaFinancial.com

Have a great day and an even better tomorrow! Please call me when you have a client who needs to borrow!