FICO Scores Used For Mortgage Loan & Associated Lenders?

[Anonymous]

Hello,

I was newly introduced to these forums and I have a quick question about FICO scores used for mortgages.  I see there is already a similar thread on this subject, but I wanted to create a new thread with some additional information / questions.  In this thread, it talks about the different FICO scores used for mortgages (FICO 2/4/5, Equifax Beacon 5.0, etc) along with where you can purchase some of these reports.

My question / comments are:

• When I went to purchase a home in 2021 and was looking for pre-approval from my credit union, they informed me that my credit score was in the 600s (I think).  When I discussed this with them, I told them this can’t be correct because when I ran my score through my credit card company (AMEX), it said that it was 800+.  The lender then explained to me about the different FICO scores used for mortgages is a different system (where scores are generally much lower) vs my score through AMEX (VantageScore) which is more of a consumer reporting score which is not generally used by mortgage lenders.
• I also learned at that same time that I had a ‘hit’ on my credit due to an unpaid Comcast bill which lowered my FICO score to the 600s (long story short, my final bill was to be adjusted and I tried to have this corrected [and didn’t pay the bill in the process] and the bill was ultimately sent to collections as I tried to have the resolved over the phone over a couple of billing cycles)
• Since I was looking for a jumbo loan, I was no longer eligible for 10% down payment, and was now required to put down 20%.

My question is – if I pay for the different credit reports, are there a list of banks and credit unions compiled by users where it lists which credit score they use for the mortgage?  Meaning, once I pull as many of my different credit scores as possible, then look to see which is highest and then find a lender that uses that particular FICO score.  Hopefully that makes sense?

Thanks in advance!

[dragontears]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello,

I was newly introduced to these forums and I have a quick question about FICO scores used for mortgages.  I see there is already a similar thread on this subject, but I wanted to create a new thread with some additional information / questions.  In this thread, it talks about the different FICO scores used for mortgages (FICO 2/4/5, Equifax Beacon 5.0, etc) along with where you can purchase some of these reports.

My question / comments are:

• When I went to purchase a home in 2021 and was looking for pre-approval from my credit union, they informed me that my credit score was in the 600s (I think).  When I discussed this with them, I told them this can’t be correct because when I ran my score through my credit card company (AMEX), it said that it was 800+.  The lender then explained to me about the different FICO scores used for mortgages is a different system (where scores are generally much lower) vs my score through AMEX (VantageScore) which is more of a consumer reporting score which is not generally used by mortgage lenders.
• I also learned at that same time that I had a ‘hit’ on my credit due to an unpaid Comcast bill which lowered my FICO score to the 600s (long story short, my final bill was to be adjusted and I tried to have this corrected [and didn’t pay the bill in the process] and the bill was ultimately sent to collections as I tried to have the resolved over the phone over a couple of billing cycles)
• Since I was looking for a jumbo loan, I was no longer eligible for 10% down payment, and was now required to put down 20%.

My question is – if I pay for the different credit reports, are there a list of banks and credit unions compiled by users where it lists which credit score they use for the mortgage?  Meaning, once I pull as many of my different credit scores as possible, then look to see which is highest and then find a lender that uses that particular FICO score.  Hopefully that makes sense?

Thanks in advance!

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For mortgages it is simple, older FICO models are used it is EX2, EQ5 and TU4. 

I am aware of 2 places that you can purchase all of these scores, here through myFICO or credit. com (I think, I don't use that site so not 100% sure I got the right one). 

Amex score should have been a FICO 8, which ignores small "nuisance" collections but the older "mortgage" scores don't 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for this @dragontears... that is great information.  I will pull my scores to see what comes up and then I'll report back.

[chiefone4u]

All lenders I'm aware of use your middle score to determine your loan details. 

So if you have a Fico2: 652, Fico4: 540 and Fico5: 720... they will base your loan on a score of 652 because it is neither the highest or lowest score.

So basically, you'll need two of your (mortgage) scores at or above the minimum threshold for the loan you want.

Who is the collection agency with your Comcast bill? Sometimes you can negotiate a smaller amount to settle the debt AND get them to delete the negative information from your credit reports (which would give you a pretty good bump in score).

[VALoanMaster]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello,

I was newly introduced to these forums and I have a quick question about FICO scores used for mortgages.  I see there is already a similar thread on this subject, but I wanted to create a new thread with some additional information / questions.  In this thread, it talks about the different FICO scores used for mortgages (FICO 2/4/5, Equifax Beacon 5.0, etc) along with where you can purchase some of these reports.

My question / comments are:

• When I went to purchase a home in 2021 and was looking for pre-approval from my credit union, they informed me that my credit score was in the 600s (I think).  When I discussed this with them, I told them this can’t be correct because when I ran my score through my credit card company (AMEX), it said that it was 800+.  The lender then explained to me about the different FICO scores used for mortgages is a different system (where scores are generally much lower) vs my score through AMEX (VantageScore) which is more of a consumer reporting score which is not generally used by mortgage lenders.
• I also learned at that same time that I had a ‘hit’ on my credit due to an unpaid Comcast bill which lowered my FICO score to the 600s (long story short, my final bill was to be adjusted and I tried to have this corrected [and didn’t pay the bill in the process] and the bill was ultimately sent to collections as I tried to have the resolved over the phone over a couple of billing cycles)
• Since I was looking for a jumbo loan, I was no longer eligible for 10% down payment, and was now required to put down 20%.

My question is – if I pay for the different credit reports, are there a list of banks and credit unions compiled by users where it lists which credit score they use for the mortgage?  Meaning, once I pull as many of my different credit scores as possible, then look to see which is highest and then find a lender that uses that particular FICO score.  Hopefully that makes sense?

Thanks in advance!

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Have you tried a pay for delete with Comcast? 

[JVille]

For Mortgage Lending the scores are Fico 2,4 & 5..... 99.9% of allllllll lenders use these. If you call lenders to ask don't be surprised if they frequently don't even know what scores they use. They often will simply say Fico Scores or Mtg scores with out knowing the specific details. Mtg brokers are more often better informed than bank LO's. 
The other important thing you need to know is that if you have 2 borrowers the score used will be the Lowest Middle score when looking at both borrowers. Example my husband has Mtg scores All in the 800+ range. I on the other hand was sitting forever at 730ish which at the time was just below the threshold for top tier rates. Did not matter how high hubby's was,  my score drug us down.