Understanding FICO® Scoring

[tooscope2]

Hello all,

So during the mortgage application process I pulled my three scores from myfico and truecredit.com and they showed scores in the range of 620-648 for all three bureaus.  I was ready to roll and asked my lender to pull my credit.  He came back to me with scores between 558-601.  This was crushing.  Anyone know why that might be?  We pulled them within 24 hrs of each other.

Any help much appreciated.

[Brammy]

Is he pulling FICO or some sort of Bankruptcy risk profile?  When I appd my were an exact match.  I''d try another lender, something smells llike fish

[tooscope2]

I was going to try another lender but I was afraid to do too many inquiries during this time.  I was trying to fix any errors and then rescore and shop around but maybe you are right.  Thanks again.

By the way, from what I can tell he used my fico.  He said it is not uncommon for lenders to get a lower score, they are "more strict" with how they read them.  Doesn't make sense to me.

He said all the internet scores are bogus.

[Brammy]

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tooscope2 wrote:

I was going to try another lender but I was afraid to do too many inquiries during this time.  I was trying to fix any errors and then rescore and shop around but maybe you are right.  Thanks again.

By the way, from what I can tell he used my fico.  He said it is not uncommon for lenders to get a lower score, they are "more strict" with how they read them.  Doesn't make sense to me.

He said all the internet scores are bogus.

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Okay he's bogus.  You can shop for mortgage loans in as many locations as you like within a two week period and as long as the lender codes it correctly, it should show as one inqury.

My lender uses Factual Data which is one of the major FICO score providers to mortgage lenders and came up with the excat same scores I got from myficom not once but 5 different lenders.  Is this guy at a bank or a mortgage company.  If I were you I would run fast and run hard.

[tooscope2]

Thanks again. The problem is we used him 3 yrs ago on our 1st mortgage and he seemed on the up and up.  I just called him and he said he would give me his reports tomorrow.  He is a mortgage broker but says they are also a lender.

[Simplypositive]

The three scores should be the same with the broker using the middle score. I imagine he is using an old score or attempting to get more fees or a higher interest rate for your loan. I just went through the mortgage process and my numbers matched the brokers. You can continue to work on your scores as the mortgage process continues and then you can request that they re pull and use your updated scores. I focuses on the top two scores as they take the middle of the three and was able to alter my interest rate by 1.5%.

[frogfrog22]

Yep, I'm a mortgage broker and also own a credit repair company.  This happens all the time,  there are many different scoring models and also severeal "Fair Issac" scoring models.  The problem is that when you pull your own credit like through truecredit (which I believe is a service provided by experian) they use a scoring model that is way different than what mortgage lenders use.  You're screwed, the score that the lender is coming up with is the same as what 95% of the lender will have.  I don't know if you are doing a re-fi or a purchase, but your scores should be enough to qualif you for FHA, fannie mae's "community 100" or freddie mac's "home possible 100".  In the mean time, pay down any revolving balances you may have and dispute all the negative information on your reports.  Good luck.

Hi frogfrog22

I noticed you posted some personal information in the FICO Forums.  It is generally considered unwise to share such information on a public forum.  For your privacy and safety, I've edited this post for you.Thanks for posting to the Forums.

-Barry

Message Edited by Barry on 04-17-2007 06:50 AM

[deb]

Ask your mortgage lender. I hope, for your sake, you are dealing directly with your bank and NOT a BROKER.

[deb]

Things may have changed for him in three years. I would NEVER recommend using a broker. Your scores are adequate enough to use a bank directly. A broker is just a middle man between you and the bank who charges you a lot of money (and headaches) to hook you two up, when you could just go directly to the bank. I have repeatedly seen brokers who get you all excited at the start saying what a great rate you are going to get, etc., then pull the rug out from under you at the closing table and give you much less desirable terms, like a much higher interest rate, etc. They wait until closing because, by then, your bags are packed and you are all ready to go. Many people will not turn back at this point. / I agree with the other person responding to you. This broker does not pass the smell test. He is not being completely honest with you if you have correctly relayed the facts.

[htc]

The same thing happened when I went for a car loan at the dealership.  The difference was over 70 points.... all that happened was that they lost my business, I secured a 0% loan at a different dealership for the same vehicle/same price.  Shop around... a low score means higher rates and higher profits/fees for the lender.  Bankrate.com is a good starting place.

Good luck!