The answer to the second question is almost always, NO! The reason you get so many unsolicited offers is because the major credit repositories – Trans Union, Experian, and Equifax - sell your information as soon as a credit report is ordered by a mortgage company.
A creditor, in this case a mortgage lender, is allowed to make an offer of credit to anyone who meets their lending criteria. As soon as the lender orders the credit report as part of the normal mortgage process, the credit repository puts the borrowers’ names on a "Pre-Screened Offer of Credit” list, more commonly known as a "trigger list."
This list is sold to anybody who wants to buy it. Mortgage lenders and brokers purchase the list and then solicit the borrower, either by phone or e-mail, with an offer of their own. All of this can take place within minutes or hours of the lender pulling your credit report. Last fall, my sister and her husband wanted to refinance their mortgage. The day after I pulled their credit report, they received an offer from the current servicer of their mortgage – the next day!
There is a way you can stop this from happening - you can opt-out of this process. By opting out, you will remove your name from lists sold to other mortgage companies. Simply visit http://www.optoutprescreen.com or call 888-567-8688 to opt out. You will have to give them some personal information necessary to process your request, and you can opt out for 5 years or permanently.
By opting out, it in no way limits your ability to apply for or obtain a mortgage or any other kinds of credit. It just prevents your information from being sold to other lenders which will prevent your private information from being sold to people you didn't authorize to have it, protect your privacy, reduce the number of unwanted credit offers you receive, and may even reduce your risk for falling prey to identity theft.
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