How to find best rate without getting credit report hit over and over again...

[Hawksfan]

This is perhaps an easy question.  How do I find out which bank will offer me the best rate on an FHA without having each bank ping my credit?  Is there a way for a broker to search all banks and find me the best rate with one pull?  I just don't want my score dropping because I walk into 5 banks looking for the best rate.  Also is there an easy calculator to find out how large of a lon I will be able to obtain?  I am not asking what I can afford as I will most likely be applying with just my income butr I'm soon to be married and will have much more income in the form of her income that won't be considered when I get my loan.

[Tweak3D]

As long as you shop around within the same 30-45 days, all mortgage inquiries will only be counted as 1 as far as hurting your credit. Its the same as it is with car loans.

[MarineVietVet]

---

@Hawksfan wrote:

This is perhaps an easy question.  How do I find out which bank will offer me the best rate on an FHA without having each bank ping my credit?  Is there a way for a broker to search all banks and find me the best rate with one pull?  I just don't want my score dropping because I walk into 5 banks looking for the best rate.  Also is there an easy calculator to find out how large of a lon I will be able to obtain?  I am not asking what I can afford as I will most likely be applying with just my income butr I'm soon to be married and will have much more income in the form of her income that won't be considered when I get my loan.

---

Hi there and welcome.

FICO scoring has a "de-duplication window" and it looks at your history for the last 12 months, and when it sees two or more hard inqs for the same type of mortgage or auto loan it will ignore all but one of them as far as scoring is concerned. If the lender is using an older FICO scoring model the window is 14 days, if they are using the newest model it can be up to 45 days. Also keep in mind that even though the multiple inqs count as one in FICO scoring, all of the inqs will continue to show on your reports (that is, reports pulled from sites other than myfico) for up to 2 years.

[Hawksfan]

Thank you folks!  Follow up question then.  Should I plan a couple weeks window to go to various banks and "lay it all out on the table" so to speak and get rates available to me based on income and credit worthiness?  I assume it comes down to what I want to buy and how much down also?  I heard getting a pre approval letter is the first step before even looking for a home.  Would that letter include max loan amount the bank is willing to give along with interest rate? Should I obtain multiple pre approval letters?  If there is some magical source for all these questions a link would also be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance and thanks for the warm reception.

[Anonymous]

I'm dealing with a USDA not an FHA loan, but from my understanding, both are government backed and credit scores don't have a big effect on rates. You either qualify 640+ (620 with a bunch of hoops) or you don't. A mortgage company should bid (shop around) for the best rate available when you’re ready to lock in. Right now it should be 3.5-4. Most credit unions have the same rate for everyone eligible.

[boomhower]

With FHA the rates are going to be the same.  Just check their websites for their current rates, it doesn't vary based on score.  As long as you qualify you will get whatever rate is when you lock.  When I shopped a couple months ago almost everyone was at the same rate for FHA.