@AmberPlath wrote:Where do we look to see what type of fico was pulled when on our tri-merge report??
On a tri-merge it's nearly always:
Experian – Fair Isaac V2
TransUnion – Classic 04
Equifax – Beacon 5
It's effectively mandated by Fannie/Freddie for their underwriting purposes, and to my knowledge FHA winds up similarly. Only possible exception would be jumbo mortgage lending but even there I suspect they use the common ones.
@llecs wrote:
@azguy13 wrote:
@llecs wrote:MyFICO offers two different FICO scores, one each for EQ and TU.
The EQ FICO is specifically called Beacon 5.0. This is used by most all mortgage lenders. I suggest going back into your tri-merge report and check the score version to make sure it says "Beacon 5.0". If it says something else, post back. If it does say that, then consider a score change as a source of the error. Scores can change daily if you have accounts updating all the time. Even adding $1 in some instances to a CC can result in a significant change. Also don't rely on SW alerts for your before and after comparison, with the reason being that score alerts only come every 7-10 days and a lot can happen in that time.
The TU FICO on here is used by a small number of mortgage lenders, but most lenders use a newer version. The one on here is usually listed as "FICO, Risk Score, Classic 98". Most lenders use a newer version listed as "FICO, Risk Score, Classic 04". The difference in these two versions when compared the same day can be small or well into the double digits.
None of the scores offered by the 3 CRAs are FICO scores when you purchase from their website. Equifax.com does have an EQ FICO available, but the score they push is a FAKO.
Could the difference in score be the result of an enhanced score? Maybe the OP had some type of collection at some point from a landlord/apartment?
OP hadn't been on in 6+ months, but there's a large number of unknowns and only assumptions with his/her post. OP says, "I thought the FICO scores were the accurate ones versus those you would get from say the Experian, Transunion, Equifax sites.". Experian.com and TransUnion.com never offered FICO scores on those two URLs. I'm guessing that OP was comparing a FAKO with a FICO. And of course you couldn't buy any EX FICO for years leading up to this past June, after his/her post. Assuming he/she is basing his/her assumptions solely on the EQ FICO (ScoreWatch mention was made by OP), then there could be some issues there which led to my comments. It's very easy to forget to reset the target score after every score change, and that can result in no score alerts. OP might be looking at a score that is days/weeks/months old in comparing to the EQ FICO from the lender.
On enhanced scores, I have yet to see any posts made pointing out that their mortgage lender used a mortgage-enhanced FICO. I'm certain there are lenders out there somewhere that use it, but I've never seen anyone mention it.
I think the number is incredibly small, and probably relegated to the Jumbo space explicitly if any? The Mortgage-enhanced score wasn't even introduced until FICO '08 if I remember the release correctly, and given that all banks aren't portfolioing conventional mortgages, that's explicitly '04 as is FHA I think.