Just signed up for myFICO, how accurate?

[bdhu2001]

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@jeffeverde wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:
How similar arefico04 andfico08

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From recent personal experience, the difference can be HUGE.  In December 2013 I got a mortgage, and my FICO 04 scores at that time were 645-655.  In July of this year, I bought my FICO 08 scores, and they were 580-590! ! !  One of my reports took a 76 point drop.  Between December and July, the only change in my credit report was the addition of the new mortgage (which should have added a few points) -- so this was specifically a difference in the reporting models.

For me, the big damage from FICO 08 has been the exclusion of Authorized User accounts (FICO 04 includes AU accounts).  If you're married and you are an AU on your spouses accounts rather than a co-borrower, expect your FICO 04 (mortgage) scores to look much better than your FICO 08 (credit card) scores.

When you're mortgage shopping, you specifcally want to know your FICO 04 score.  Depending on the CRA, you'll see it listed as FICO Classic 04 (TransUnion), Beacon 5.0 (Equifax), or FICO-II (Experian).

FICO 08 is a good starting point to asses the general quality of your credit report and to define any remediation needed.  But if a mortgage is a ways off in the future, you might consider talking to a mortgage broker now, and having them assess your reports.  Because brokers are focused on finding you a loan (vs the lender's undewriter who's looking for reasons to reject the loan), they tend to be pretty savvy in how to work the system to maximize your score.  

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Do you know what you're FICO 08 score was in December 2013? It's not possible to compare them unless we're comparing the same point in time. I know there's a difference ion 04 and 08 scores, but according to the FICO simulator, a new mortgage creates a drop in score.  Over time, your score will go back up, but initially there is a score drop.

As far as differences between FICO 04 & FICO 08 scores, I've seen some people with higher 04 scores and some with higher 08 scores.  The majority of the complaints, on this forum, about the differences state that their 04 scores are 40 - 100 points lower.