Pulling my own report - does it affect my score?

[Anonymous]

OK...we've been working on rebuilding our credit, so naturally I keep an eye on what's on my credit report, etc.  We are working on getting a preapproval for a mortgage now.  Our mortgage guy doesn't want me to pull my own score - he infers that it could hurt my score and make it harder to get preapproved (we are right on the edge).  I know I've seen it discussed elsewhere on this forum - If I'm not signing up with a credit repair/management company and viewing my reports/scores through other online entities, are these affecting my credit score?  I know that I can only get "real" scores from FICO...

Thanks in advance!  I'd like to give him correct info.

[Anonymous]

Hi Ella02,

Welcome!

Pulling your own reports results in a "soft pull" and never impacts your FICO score.

(And dont' be too hard on your mortgage guy - sometimes they are not FICO savvy). 
On the other hand, we do have a very helpful Mortgage Loans forum here, with some very knowledgeable folks.  Might be helpful to pop in there as well. (ETA:  Never mind - I see you've already been posting there!)

Good wishes on your mortgage!

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the quick response!!  I won't be too hard on him.  I know that many people don't spend as much time on this as some of us do

One more question.....He told me I needed to pay down one of my credit cards in order to get a few more points on my score in order to qualify.  This comes from the "simulator" that his credit company uses, I guess.  I paid it down, and my statement date for the credit card in question was 6/24.  I noticed that the balance is reporting correctly on 2 of the 3 reports, but it doesn't appear my score has changed.  Is that because I'm not technically "requesting" it?  Would a "hard inquiry" from him cause the score to update then?

[Anonymous]

Hi Ella,

Where are you monitoring your reports and scores?  Knowing that will help us respond better.

[Anonymous]

And I guess I would also ask what are your CL's and your balances on each of your CC's/revolving accounts?

[Anonymous]

Cap One - CL 3000 balance 500 (this is the one we had to pay down, it was initially 2500 for a month or so)

FP - CL 400 balance 350

FP - CL 400 balance 6

Our debt/income ratio is 11%

[Anonymous]

Woops, missed that middle message.  I checked annualcreditreport.com, and I've been member at Equifax for a while.  I just happened to check TransUnion for fun, though I saw their scores were based on the "Vantage Model" too late.  I know no one give a real score except FICO and you can't even get one from EQ any more.  I just wanted to see what they said...

[p-]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Cap One - CL 3000 balance 500 (this is the one we had to pay down, it was initially 2500 for a month or so)

FP - CL 400 balance 350

FP - CL 400 balance 6

Our debt/income ratio is 11%

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What I've seen is you get the best utilization score if you have zero balance on all but one card, and 3-9% on that one.  Also, make sure your total utilization is less than 9%.  Best would be if you looked like this:

FP - CL 400 balance 0

Cap One - CL 3000 balance 270

FP - CL 400 balance 0

[MarineVietVet]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Woops, missed that middle message.  I checked annualcreditreport.com, and I've been member at Equifax for a while.  I just happened to check TransUnion for fun, though I saw their scores were based on the "Vantage Model" too late.  I know no one give a real score except FICO and you can't even get one from EQ any more.  I just wanted to see what they said...

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That's not entirely true. Equifax will still sell you a FICO score but you have to look very hard to find it. You can get to it here: www.equifax.com/web-myfico-products/

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 3/11 pulled by lender- 835, EQ - 2/11-816, TU - 2/11-782

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".

[p-]

Also look at any other baddies; see if you can PFD or goodwill to remove any of them, starting with the most recent.