Even though my mortgage FICO (yes, I just get it pulled by a lender but decided to try to get a bit more cleanup in and have it pulled at the 45 day mark)) specifically says the number of inquiiries is affecting two of my scores? Of course it could be more recent pulls. After I got a Walmart card in January, I tried unsuccessfully to get two more Comenity cards. In the last 6 months though, I just have two Credco inquiries on each CRA (I thought I was going to take the plunge in June but realized I needed to wait), an Amex in May and Chase last month - both apprroved (woot!) It is unlikely that all the inquiries 9-12 months old are impacting me? Do they have less score impact as the first year since inquiry passes or (as I had assumed) same impact for 12 months and then no impact after 12 months?
Sigh. I have to get those last few points in. 
@Anonymous wrote:
Last year my credit was still pretty poor and when I bought a car, the dealer had to try about 6 places to get a half decent interest rate for me. So I have 6 inquiries that should no longer affect my credit score, I'm assuming, by 11/1 - they were all run maybe 10/21. Do they really count as the same damage as one inquiry? Or should it help raise my scores when we are past that year point? I'm guessing two (I had a another that month) inquires won't make a huge difference but 6-7 would depending on how impact was calculated. I am trying to claw up to a mid score of 680. I'm up about 170 points since beginning credit clean up 5/2015 but am afraid these few points are going to be tough to get. Sigh. I should never have let my credit become such a mess.
Good question.
Fico mortgage algorithms (Fico 04 and Fico 98) do treat inquiries, # (%) cards reporting balances and installment loans differently than Fico 08.
1) A single inquiry on EQ cost me 13 points on EQ Fico 04 mortgage. I lost no points in EQ Fico 08. The impact on mortgage score was for a full year - inquiry gone, score up. So, don't assume a minor or no point change on Fico 08 means you will see the same result on Fico 04. Fico mortgage algorithms punish score more severly point wise than does Fico 08 for the 1st few inquiries.
2) Fico mortgage scores are much more sensitive to # of open accounts(cards) reporting balances than is Fico 08. Posters have reported balances on 1/2 or more cards without a point ding on Fico 08. Fico 04 will not tolerate such behavior and your score can take a major hit if too cards report balances. The "report a balance on one card only rule" should be followed when trying to optimize Fico mortgage scores. In fact, that guideline was derived from data associated with Fico mortgage scores.
3) EQ and TU Fico 04 mortgage algorithms don't require an open installment loan - a closed loan on file is fine. The older EX Fico 98 mortgage does like to see an open installment loan as do all Fico 08 algorithms.
4) EX Fico 98 mortgage does look at charge card balance to high balance as a scoring factor (B/HB). Neither Fico 04 mortgage or Fico 08 look at this factor. If you have an AMEX charge card, make sure your B/HB on any charge cards you have is below 30% in the 2 months prior to getting a mortgage. I tested this a couple times.
- Lost 20 points [837 => 817] on EX Fico score 2 (EX Fico 98 mortgage model) when I allowed B/HB ($1997/$1997) to report at 100%.
- On a previous test I lost 5 points [837 => 832] on EX Fico score 2 when B/HB ($628/$1278) was at 49%
Thus, the below 30% recommendation to avoid any point loss associated with B/HB on NPSL charge cards.
5) The Fico mortgage algorithms do not differentiate between type or dollar amount of collection on file. If there is a collection, there is a demerit. Fico 08 does not treat all collections equally - some small dollar amount are ignored in Fico 08. So, if you have some they will be hurting your mortgage scores.
