Mortgage Application vs Hard Inquiries?

[kxkxkxx]

I tried to search the forum but could not find this answer.

How many hard inquiries is too many in Mortgage Lender's mind? Also, does the whole "the inquiry is over a year so we dont count it" come into play?

Just curious since I will be applying for a home loan in about 12 mos. I want to ensure my inquiries are not an issue. Currently I have 2 ..one happened in June 2020 and the other Sept 2020. I was going to apply for a balance transfer credit card today, so that will add to the above...is that a big deal?

thanks!

[coldfusion]

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@kxkxkxx wrote:

I tried to search the forum but could not find this answer.

How many hard inquiries is too many in Mortgage Lender's mind? Also, does the whole "the inquiry is over a year so we dont count it" come into play?

Just curious since I will be applying for a home loan in about 12 mos. I want to ensure my inquiries are not an issue. Currently I have 2 ..one happened in June 2020 and the other Sept 2020. I was going to apply for a balance transfer credit card today, so that will add to the above...is that a big deal?

thanks!

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The general rule of thumb quoted here is that there shouldn't be any inquiries reported from within the previous 12 months when applying for a mortgage but that's a general guideline.  It's up to each individual lender to establish their own policies and requirements regarding inquiries and new accounts.  If you do some research here I think you'll find that based upon member reports the general guideline is overall pretty accurate. 

Remember that while inquiries more than 12 months old are not factored into FICO scoring they are still reported until they fall off your profile; 24 months for EQ/TU and at some point during the 25th month for EX (since they purge aged-out inquiries all at the same time once per month). 

[kxkxkxx]

Awesome thank you!

[SouthJamaica]

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@kxkxkxx wrote:

I tried to search the forum but could not find this answer.

How many hard inquiries is too many in Mortgage Lender's mind? Also, does the whole "the inquiry is over a year so we dont count it" come into play?

Just curious since I will be applying for a home loan in about 12 mos. I want to ensure my inquiries are not an issue. Currently I have 2 ..one happened in June 2020 and the other Sept 2020. I was going to apply for a balance transfer credit card today, so that will add to the above...is that a big deal?

thanks!

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You would do best to have no hard pulls during the next 12 months. Even 1 inquiry will cost you in your mortgage score.

[Anonymous]

The answer is that it's both lender specific and profile specific.  Different lenders can view inquiries different ways.  One may be bothered by 1 or 2 where another may not be.  It's profile specific as well because 1 or 2 inquiries can mean a world of difference on 2 different profiles.  If you take someone with a MMS of 810 and their MMS drops from a couple of inquiries (say) 6 months earlier, that's going to yield a far different result/look/profile than someone with a starting MMS of 690 that takes on the same couple of inquiries.

[kxkxkxx]

Yes I agree. I did 1 hard pull yesterday. So 1 year from now when I am applying for a mortgage loan, all 3 inquiries will be 1 year old or older.

[Anonymous]

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@kxkxkxx wrote:

I tried to search the forum but could not find this answer.

How many hard inquiries is too many in Mortgage Lender's mind? Also, does the whole "the inquiry is over a year so we dont count it" come into play?

Just curious since I will be applying for a home loan in about 12 mos. I want to ensure my inquiries are not an issue. Currently I have 2 ..one happened in June 2020 and the other Sept 2020. I was going to apply for a balance transfer credit card today, so that will add to the above...is that a big deal?

thanks!

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Aside from HPs, adding new TLs also is something mortgage scores do not really like, so I would weigh adding a new TL more so than adding a HP.

[Anonymous]

I think the higher your score is the more resiliant you will be of course, and as long as that HP and new TL doesn't drop you too low you should be able to maitain a good enough score for a decent rate. I think the main issue is how your particular lender will react to recent TL's and whether or not you can provide a good reason for doing so so close to a Mortgage app. Which I don't know if there really is a "good" reason.

Mine would be "because I wanted the $300 SUB!" etc. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I think the higher your score is the more resiliant you will be of course, and as long as that HP and new TL doesn't drop you too low you should be able to maitain a good enough score for a decent rate. I think the main issue is how your particular lender will react to recent TL's and whether or not you can provide a good reason for doing so so close to a Mortgage app. Which I don't know if there really is a "good" reason.

Mine would be "because I wanted the $300 SUB!" etc. 

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@Anonymous I got a good kick out of that thank you! 😊 and I don't know why you couldn't use that answer, sounds good to me.