@jmhqpa wrote:
The first score was sent in the letter from the mortgage company - the second score came from a second mortgage company
Check to make sure both pulled a FICO score (highly likely). Then check to see which versions of FICO score they used. There are different versions of FICO used out there, though most are predominate. There are some that use older or new versions which might not be that commonly used. Comparing different versions could easily explain the 20 points. Look on your tri-merge reports. They will say which version was used (e.g. "Beacon 5.0" for EFX or "Fair Isaac Risk Model v2" for XPN as an example).
Assuming for second that you do have exact matches, then look for differences in the reports. Even $1 off can result in a score change (in some scenarios). Look for the smallest of differences between both reports. Also, inquiries, per FICO scoring, are duplicated if the reports were pulled within a given time frame (14-45 days depending on the FICO version used). So, you could apply 100 times in a week and FICO will only ding you for one inquiry and will ignore the rest. This is done so you can rate shop and get a better deal. Also, the impact of the inquiry will not happen until the window expires. So, if you pull now, the damage (if any) of the inquiry will not be seen until the end of the 14 days, 30 days, 45 or whatever based on the FICO version.
ETA...slow typer syndrome.
