Short answer: YES! OptOutPrescreen.com is 100% legit.
Long answer: You’ve done our due diligence on choosing a mortgage loan officer, and now it’s time to complete your application. Within 24 hours of doing so, you find yourself bei
ng inundated with phone calls and text messages from sales staff with other mortgage companies. Did the company you applied to sell your information? NO! The credit report company did.
That’s right, the credit report companies change your mortgage loan officer upwards of $50 to pull your credit, then they turn around and profit again by selling your information to whomever pays them for it. It should be illegal, but it’s not (yet).
Whenever a mortgage inquiry hit your credit report, they know you are shopping for a new mortgage, so can sell your information as a “trigger lead” to any loan company willing to pay them for it. Now you get to spend your time deciding which phone calls and text messages are coming from people you want to talk to, and which ones are erroneous. Fun times!
As your loan officer I despise this for a couple of reasons: First off, some clients have been tricked into thinking these callers and texters are working with my team, and have provided them with information they shouldn’t, resulting in additional inquiries on their credit report that must be explained. Secondly, many clients assume my team is somehow responsible for all this harassment they’re suddenly getting. We are not, but once it starts, there is nothing we can do to stop it.
I post often about the Optout Prescreen, but it gets very little engagement. No one thinks about these things until it’s too late. Here’s the deal, if you think that anytime in the next FIVE YEARS you might apply for a mortgage or shop insurance products, take 30 seconds, and go to this website to OPT OUT of these solicitations. It’s really that easy but can take up to a week to be put into place. Waiting until after you apply is too late – you were already sent out on a list that cannot be pulled back.
Buying a new home comes with a certain amount of inherent stress, so let’s do what we can to remove the unnecessary bits.
I completed this process myself a year or so ago. It’s quick and easy. Head on over to my YouTube channel where I walk you through the process of completing the OptOutPreScreen form.
