When will my mortgage show up on my credit report?

If you’ve recently been given full approval for a mortgage and have settled on your property, you may want to know when your mortgage will show up on your credit report.

Admittedly it’s not the first thing most homeowners are thinking about, but it’s still worth exploring how credit reports work and how long events and products stay on said report.

Positive events, such as being approved for a mortgage may potentially boost your credit score. And if you’re aiming to do just that, you may want to know when it will be reflected in your credit report.

What goes into a credit report?

Your credit score is calculated based on events in your credit report, which includes:

• Money you borrow, including loans
• Your repayment history
• Credit applications and hard enquiries
• Defaults
• Bankruptcy
• Debt agreements

The process of applying, being approved, and paying off a mortgage falls into these categories and will appear in your credit report.

When you apply for a home loan the lender will perform a hard enquiry into your credit report to assess your creditworthiness. The hard enquiry will be noted in your report, so if you’re making multiple applications at one time and having multiple hard enquiries happen at once, this may negatively impact your credit score.

If you’re approved for a home loan, you will begin making regular repayments towards this debt. If payments are made on time, then this is an example of a positive event and may boost your credit score. If you miss a payment, or default on the loan, this can hurt your credit score and will be reflected on your credit history.

Paying off a home loan is no small feat and closing this account will appear on your credit history. It is considered positive to pay off a loan, which means repaying your mortgage in full may further boost your credit score.

How long does it take for things to show up in your credit report?

There is no one set answer for all credit reporting bureaus on this questions.

What we do know is that Equifax updates your credit report anytime new information is added - which means that once your home loan lender submits the information about your loan to the bureau, it should be visible.

What should I watch out for?

When managing a mortgage, it’s important to be aware of what can hurt your credit score. This includes:

• Missing repayments
• Making multiple credit product applications
• Defaulting on a loan
• Bankruptcy

Any late repayments, no matter how small, will have a period of 14 days from the payment due date before itis recorded on your credit report, which could hurt your credit score.

Falling into financial hardship and not notifying your lender that you cannot repay your mortgage may lead to issues. Financial Hardship Information (FHI) is recorded on your credit report for up to one year, but will not impact the calculation of your score.

Familiarise yourself with what may adversely impact your credit score and do what you can to protect yourself and your finances from this happening. It may be worth checking your own credit score regularly to keep track of how things are going. This can also be helpful in case information in your report has been filed in error, or if you’ve been the victim of identity theft.

How long does a mortgage stay on your credit report?

Whether you’ve just applied for a mortgage, have been repaying a mortgage or have finally paid off your mortgage, this information should appear on your credit report. But for how long?

Here is how long you can expect various events to appear on your credit report, according to Equifax:

Positive events:

• Active accounts paid as agreed – will remain on report if the account is open, such as repaying a mortgage, and the lender is reporting it.
• Closed accounts paid as agreed – may stay on your report for up to 10 years.

Negative events:

• Hard enquiries into your credit report – up to 2 years.
• Late repayments – may last upto 7 years.
• Collection or charged-off accounts - may last up to 7 years.
• Bankruptcy – may last from 7 – 10 years.
• Other events, including repossession and foreclosures – up to 7 years.