FICO mortgage scores not moving vs FICO 8 increasing

[Anonymous]

Hi, if someone could please give me some advice, I would greatly appreciate it. In May 2016 I made a commitment to work on my credit with the ultimate goal of becoming financially responsible for the long haul. Through these boards, I have managed to raise my FICO 8 scores from the 470s to 630s in 9 months thanks to all of your help. I realize I still have a long way to go but am proud of the progress I’ve made thus far. My mortgage scores on the other hand have remained consistently low, my mid score is 523 and I’m not seeing any progress. What specifically should I be focusing on to drive up my mortgage scores? I had set a goal of April 2018 to get into a house but at this rate it doesn’t seem realistic. Of note, my TU mortgage score is 617 which I believe is high enough for some lenders to approve (aiming for VA mortgage), but I realize they look at the mid score which is significantly lower than my TU. Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

I suggest you work with the folks in the Rebuilding Forum.  Here are the questions you should answer for them in advance.

How many credit cards do you have?

Of these, do you have all of them reporting $0 except one, with the remaining card reporting a small positive balance, such as $10?

What is a complete list of your derogs?  Indicate the derog (Day 30 or 60 or 90 or 120 late, collection, chargeoff, etc.), when it happened, and what account it was with.

Do you have any open installment accounts?  (E.g. loans?)  If so what was the original amount of the loan and how much do you owe now?

[designgnome]

 Yes!     

My score has skyrocketed into the high 700's and has remained there for a while now and my mortgage score has not moved at all.    It seems to hover just below the next bump up to get a lesser mortgage rate..