All About Business

By Dane Pearson

 If you apply for a mortgage, your inbox, answering machine, and mailbox may fill up quickly with competing offers from other mortgage companies. It's not that the company you applied to is selling or sharing your information. Rather, it's that creditors - including mortgage companies - are taking advantage of a federal law that allows them to identify potential customers for the products they offer, and then market to them. The Federal Trade Commission, the nation's consumer protection agency, wants you to know why your application for a mortgage may trigger competing offers, how you can use them to your benefit, and how to stop getting them if that's your choice.


The unsolicited calls, emails, and letters about competing offers often are called "prescreened" or "pre-approved" offers of credit. They are based on information in your credit report that suggests you meet criteria set by the creditor making the offer - for example, you live in a certain zip code, you have a certain number of credit cards, or you have a certain credit score. Credit bureaus and other consumer reporting companies sell lists

Read more: Offers That May Trigger Your Mortgage Application