FICO score 40 points lower than any credit score?

[mamawishbone]

I recently pulled my 3 credit reports and they were 656 TU, 650 Exp and 686 EQ.   I contacted a mtg broker the next day and he says my score is 612- why would it be so much lower than either three scores.  Trying to get approved for a mortgage so I need at least a 620.   Is it possible to improve my score enough in 4-5 months?

[MarieSmiles4]

Maybe the scores you were pulling were not your true fico score, but FAKO scores.  Where did you pull your scores from? Experian doesn't allow the consumer to purchase their true fico, usually only a lender can give you that number.

[MarieSmiles4]

Oh, and as far as increasing your score.  Its def possible.  Do you have any credit cards with high utilization that you can pay off?  That helped me a lot when I paid down my utilization from 95% to <10%.  I got almost a 20-30 point increase in one month by doing that.

[mamawishbone]

Thanks so much for your quick response.  I pulled them from Transunion.  I only have 2 credit cards with low limits $350 and $500.  One is paid off completely and the one with a $500 limit only has a $60 balance.    I have a few old charge offs from 2008 during a time period of being unemployed that are killing me. 

[llecs]

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@mamawishbone wrote:

Thanks so much for your quick response.  I pulled them from Transunion.  I only have 2 credit cards with low limits $350 and $500.  One is paid off completely and the one with a $500 limit only has a $60 balance.    I have a few old charge offs from 2008 during a time period of being unemployed that are killing me. 

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All the scores offered on TransUnion.com are non-FICO scores (we call them FAKOs). These FAKOs on the site have a range of 501-990 vs. FICO's 300-850. They factor in stuff that FICO doesn't and vice-versa. The FAKO is called a Vantage score and virtually no lenders use it.

[mamawishbone]

Okay, thanks for clarifying.  Is the best way to get the true FICO score from this site?    Should I hold off on trying to get a mortgage for now or would it be possible if I paid off a few small collections to get my score to 620 by summer?  Getting ready to relocate and trying to decide if I should rent or consider buying.  Do services like Lexington Law really work?

[pakman92]

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@mamawishbone wrote:

Okay, thanks for clarifying.  Is the best way to get the true FICO score from this site?    Should I hold off on trying to get a mortgage for now or would it be possible if I paid off a few small collections to get my score to 620 by summer?  Getting ready to relocate and trying to decide if I should rent or consider buying.  Do services like Lexington Law really work?

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Since your mortgage lender pulled your scores he should have teh offical scores from all three beaureaus as well as the details of the reports.  YOu should start from there to see what negative information exist

[MarieSmiles4]

You can try to get those charge off's removed from your report. You may have to do a pay for delete/ or goodwill letter depending if the charge off's are already paid. There is a good amount of info on this website for you to learn all about  how to do that.  The longer you wait, and more consistent your on time payments are, your score will increase too.  How long ago were the charge offs? The longer they are on the credit report the less they affect score.  I am in your same shoes right now trying to build a house, and this forum is great to learn how to improve your scores.  I would def recommend paying for scores TU and EQ from this site, or getting score watch so you can see if your score improves and you know when the right time to apply again is!  My scores on here were exactly what the lender pulled for me!

[Damrs21]

Lexington law works good, they removed like 6 things off my report within 2-3 months.

[thom02099]

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@mamawishbone wrote:

I recently pulled my 3 credit reports and they were 656 TU, 650 Exp and 686 EQ.   I contacted a mtg broker the next day and he says my score is 612- why would it be so much lower than either three scores.  Trying to get approved for a mortgage so I need at least a 620.   Is it possible to improve my score enough in 4-5 months?

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That 612 represents just one score, probably your middle score of the 3.  That is typically the way mortgage lenders work.  They pull all 3, the pulls are true FICO from the bureaus.  Many mortgage lenders will use Kroll Factual Data to pull  the 3 credit reports, and their reports are extremely detailed and accurate.  Recontact that broker and just confirm that the 612 score is your middle score of the 3 and ask what the other scores are.  My guess is, they will be fairly close to that.  Ask the broker for a copy of the reports as well.