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How does making an inquiry on your Credit Report effect your credit score???

Image via Wikipedia

When a consumer pulls their own credit report, it is considered a “consumer disclosure” request and therefore their credit scores will not be impacted by the pull.  However, anytime a creditor accesses a consumer’s credit report it posts a credit inquiry. The credit report keeps a record of who pulled the credit report and on what date.  The credit bureaus are required to keep a complete list of all inquiries into a credit report for, in most cases, 24 months.  According to credit scoring research, consumers who are actively shopping for credit are higher credit risks than consumers who are not.  Since there is a correlation between shopping for credit and being a higher credit risk, an inquiry will, in some cases, lower a consumer’s credit score.

FICO scoring models have logic built into them that addresses “rate” shopping for auto and mortgage lending.  The models are smart enough to discriminate between comparison-shopping for the best interest rate and trying to open many credit accounts in a short period.

While the actual number of points that an inquiry is worth is a closely guarded secret, it is safe to say that only consumers who are “excessively” shopping for credit are seriously damaging their scores.  Consumers should shop and apply for credit only when they need it and, optimally, only after getting their credit and scores in good order.

This is a great topic for discussion, so please leave your comments and questions below.  Hopefully, this can be a learning experience for us all!

photo credit: amishsteve

There’s no simple answer to how the housing market got into this mess but the bottom line on the credit crunch is you do NOT have to have 720 fico with 20% down to get a loan.

What are Investors (Mortgage Lenders) looking for these days- credit, income and equity. These criteria still hold true, guidelines have tightened up but these are the main areas of concern for all investors.

Credit- what is your credit score? Scores range from 500-800. A credit score of 720 or higher is ideal. Anything over 680 is great. 680-650 is ok. 650 and below would be a perfect fit for FHA. Please look to future posts on the reason why all radio adds you hear now-a-days are all about” the new and improved FHA loans”…

Income- are you self employed (1099) or W2? If you are a self employed borrower all investors are looking for a two year history in the same line of work. If you are a W2 employee you will need a two year history of employment regardless of industry. By the way- Job gaps are acceptable for W2 employees and it is ok to be fresh out of school looking for a job with no history of previous employment.

Equity- are you looking for 100% financing or 80% financing, etc…

Investors determine their products and pricing based upon their layer of risk they are exposed to in the above three areas. There is one remaining category of importance to investors- occupancy. Will the property to be an investment property or do you intend to occupy the property as your primary residence?

We have seen the credit crunch eliminate more aggressive products such as 95% + non owner occupied financing, 103% financing, etc… don’t be fooled by all the press surrounding the mortgage industry. There are still many loans out there for both owner occupied and non owner occupied properties.

Best of luck during your home search, and feel free to contact the Get Home Denver Team with any questions!