Buying a house and keep checking credit scores when going to banks to compare loans/rates?
Question by Teri S: Buying a house and keep checking credit scores when going to banks to compare loans/rates?
My husband and I are in the process of buying a house. Every article says we should shop around at different banks and credit unions to find the best loans and rates. However, aren’t they going to check our credit scores every time? Checking your credit score too much LOWERS your score and we don’t want to go to three banks and have the second two tell us our credit scores are any different because we were shopping around for the best deal. Can anyone explain this to me?
Best answer:
Answer by Ryan M
First off, it takes 30-60 days for those to affect your credit score. So just get the quotes within the same week and then there is no issue. Second, each inquiry only lowers your score by about 2 point for 60 days. If you are worried about those few points, you probably were not going to get approved anyways.
Add your own answer in the comments!
I read somewhere that if you do everything within 30 days they will all be counted as just 1 inquiry. So just make sure you go to the three banks within the 30 day period and you will be fine.
This was a major concern, as experts always urge you to shop around for your mortgage while stressing the importance of a good credit score.
Fortunately, Fico adjusted their algorithm as a result of this conflict of interest and now considers mortgage rate shopping within a month (or even longer) as a single event, or inquiry. So it shouldn’t hurt your credit score to shop multiple lenders as opposed to just one. I stress shouldn’t because they have general guidelines, and we all know there can be exceptions.
But it’s definitely okay to shop around, and obviously you should if you want to get the best deal on your mortgage.