Understanding FICO® Scoring

[frugalQ]

Good morning Forum,

I got the myfico TU98 score today, and it is listed at 655.  I am refinancing my house, and my mortgage lender TU score was 699....which is a 44 point jump.  I am sooo thankful that the mortgage company does not use the same scoring model that myfico does.   My middle score would have been in the 650's if they had used TU98 (either TU or Equifax).  However, at it stands, my middle score is 678 (Experian).

This goes to prove how important utilization is when calculating your FICO score.  With TU98, my utilization is 28%, but when Amex is not factored in, my utilization is 15%.

[pizzadude]

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frugalQ wrote:

Good morning Forum,

I got the myfico TU98 score today, and it is listed at 655.  I am refinancing my house, and my mortgage lender TU score was 699....which is a 44 point jump.  I am sooo thankful that the mortgage company does not use the same scoring model that myfico does.   My middle score would have been in the 650's if they had used TU98 (either TU or Equifax).  However, at it stands, my middle score is 678 (Experian).

This goes to prove how important utilization is when calculating your FICO score.  With TU98, my utilization is 28%, but when Amex is not factored in, my utilization is 15%.

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A lot of people have reported large variances with TU98 and TU04, I'm glad that this one worked out in your favor

Good luck with your refi - what interest rate are you looking at ?

[BoysMumx2]

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frugalQ wrote:

Good morning Forum,

I got the myfico TU98 score today, and it is listed at 655.  I am refinancing my house, and my mortgage lender TU score was 699....which is a 44 point jump.  I am sooo thankful that the mortgage company does not use the same scoring model that myfico does.   My middle score would have been in the 650's if they had used TU98 (either TU or Equifax).  However, at it stands, my middle score is 678 (Experian).

This goes to prove how important utilization is when calculating your FICO score.  With TU98, my utilization is 28%, but when Amex is not factored in, my utilization is 15%.

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I experienced the same thing!  On 6/7 my TU98 was 698 but the mortgage lender pull was 731.  It made a 1% difference on my down payment assistance product.

[frugalQ]

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pizzadude wrote:

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frugalQ wrote:

Good morning Forum,

I got the myfico TU98 score today, and it is listed at 655.  I am refinancing my house, and my mortgage lender TU score was 699....which is a 44 point jump.  I am sooo thankful that the mortgage company does not use the same scoring model that myfico does.   My middle score would have been in the 650's if they had used TU98 (either TU or Equifax).  However, at it stands, my middle score is 678 (Experian).

This goes to prove how important utilization is when calculating your FICO score.  With TU98, my utilization is 28%, but when Amex is not factored in, my utilization is 15%.

---

A lot of people have reported large variances with TU98 and TU04, I'm glad that this one worked out in your favor

Good luck with your refi - what interest rate are you looking at ?

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3.875% with the lender paying 1 point....i guess i'm saying that correctly.  I have an FHA mortgage, and i'm taking advantage of the new FHA streamline refi program that just went into effect last week.

[BigDaddy18]

I'm glad to hear that his program is helping someone out.  It's the first posative thing I've hear from it!

[frugalQ]

Before the rules changed on 6/11, it would not have benefited me to do the streamine refi because the additional MI cost would have taken away over half of P&I savings. But the reduction in the MI rates has turned out to be huge for me. The reduction in the upfront MI cost alone dropped my closing costs by nearly $2k. And my monthly MI is staying the same which will allow me to see the full P&I savings. On top of that, my property tax is decreasing (again), so im hoping my escrow payment will also reduce.

I anticipate that I'll recoup my closing cost in about 3 months.

Since I'm underwater on my loan and won't be able to sell anytime soon, I may as well take advantage of the new insurance rules.

What's interesting is that for FHA streamine refi, FHA doesn't require a credit score or income...but the banks rules override.

[tuckandroll]

your lucky myfico shows me at 692,  pull from Tu came back at 622 -70pts.... I have no clue why.  Same day pulls, both soft.

[llecs]

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tuckandroll wrote:

your lucky myfico shows me at 692,  pull from Tu came back at 622 -70pts.... I have no clue why.  Same day pulls, both soft.

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Was the 622 from a lender? If so, how did you get a soft pull for a TU04?

[tuckandroll]

i used lender club and setup account, they did a soft pull to get a "pre approval" and reported the 622 from TU. It didn't say the what method used but it certiinly wasn't the same as myfico.  

I had no intent of getting a loan just wandted to see the score and compare to myfico, getting ready for a mortgage and it really was depressing.

[llecs]

You're the second person I recall seeing to mention that LC's score didn't match their TU98 from here. IME it always matched (I'm a lender and borrower). I wonder if they changed FICO versions.