It's impossible to tell what score would be higher or lower. If looking to buy now, you could always app w/ the lender that pulls '04. Once confirmed that the score is indeed TU04, then shop around w/ a 2nd, 3rd, 4th or more lender until you do find one that pulls TU98. Remember, all mortgage inquiries pulled within a 2 week period, at the least, count as one single inquiry per FICO scoring. You'd lose nothing by shopping around (other than time, writers cramp, etc.).
DW and I are also looking for a home. While it would be nice to get $8k of our tax money back, we'd rather take a laid back approach and not have to rush through the process of buying our first. While I strongly feel that we could get approved (low mid score is above 660), we don't want to rush into a higher rate. Our goal is to improve our scores to a min. of 720 and then we wouldn't have to worry about FICO versions all that much. Plus were in the DC area. Saving for a large down payment is very challenging.
