Trying to hit the 680 mid-score threshold for home puchase

[Anonymous]

I am new to the forum and welcome any and all input.  I have perused your forum for a few days prior to subctibing and have a general understanding that all credit scores are not create equal and that frustration is a general outcome in attempting to understand the nature of ones credit.  

I am 2 years removed from a rather expensive divorce and finally have all baggage paid and in the rear view.  My goal over the course of 2015 has been to increase my credit scores from low/mid 500s to at least 680 to meet qualifications guidelines for a new home mortgage.  I have subscribed to Lifelock, free credit sesame, free credit karma and myfico to get the broadest view possible.  The most recent 30 day results have me a bit baffled on what level of progress I am making.  Here is the data:

LifeLock:

Experian 4/1:   538

Equifax 4/1: 604

TransUnion 4/1:  615   5/1: 641

Capital One

TU 4/17:  642

Credit Sesame

TU 5/5:  664

Credit Karma

TU 4/30: 664

EQ 4/30: 666

myFico

TU 5/6: 611

EX 5/6: 656

EQ 5/6: 680

The TU FAKO score from CS and CK are encouraging, as is the month over month TU improvement at LifeLock.  And, obviously, the FICO score at myFico is encouraging.  But, how can I have a 538 EX score at LifeLock 30 days ago and a 656 EX score at MyFico now?   So many huge variances that I dont know how realistically close I am to attaining a 680 mid-score for mortgage qualification.  I suppose that the best action would be to speak to a couple of lenders and get their specific input, but I fear that will result in a hard pull and send this thing in the wrong direction before I am able to qualify.  

Any advice? 

[Dw4250]

Welcome to the forums!

Have you pulled your Three Bureau Report on here yet?  It's a little pricey ($60) however it will provide you with your "mortgage" FICO scores which are the scores banks are most likely to use.  I would get these scores before contacting a mortgage broker as this will give you a good idea of where you stand.

Much to my disappointment, these scores can be quite different from your regular FICO scores.  For example, my scores (FICO 08) are in the 720-740 range, but my mortgage FICOs are 700, 683, 680 (40-50 points lower).  

[Dw4250]

Also if you are not holding a mortgage, you should be able to qualify for an FHA loan with a 620-640 mid score.  Just FYI...

The downside of the FHA is it usually has a higher PMI (mortgage insurance) rate versus a conventional loan.

[Anonymous]

the single best thing here is the wealth of knowledge. Make use of it. Post some more info on your profile. We can look at your scores and make guesses as to what is holding you back, (many of us have had prior baddies so we understand what caused our scores to be lowish) but if you provide the info in your actual reports we can help you to work on them. For example, list your current credit cards and loans with limits and balances. just utilization might be enough to get you above 680. Do you have collections, paid or unpaid? Do you have any loans? how much, what term. Late payments?

Using the knowledge I got here Iwas able to go from low 500s to mid 700s in less than a year, with mortgage scores just above 700. I started with no positive accounts, 7 negatives. I now have 7 positives with near perfect utilization and no negatives. If you list specific creditors that are reporting a negative, people will chime in with how the creditor was to work with to remove the negatives, or at least get the item to hurt less.

You are starting off far better than I did, soit can be done. Ask questions, read others experiences. You have a hill to climb. I had a mountain exactly 12 months ago today. I went under contract on a house over the weekend. Use the knowledge here, share your own. Welcome!

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the quick reply.  

I do have a current mortgage.  In this case, the mortgage will be beyond the FHA restrictions for my region and classified as a jumbo.  I have spoken to a half dozen lenders and they have given the 680 minimum mid-score as the threshold for approval.  

The confusion I really have here is, knowing that I have to have 2 bureau scores come back above 680, and with scores so randomly disributed, I really dont know how far or near I am.  It sounds like I should pull the 3-bureau report to get a more direct set of data points.  

Also, in reference to the contributor factors in my low score...

- I have no credit card debt, with $1500 in open cards specifically for credit improvement purposes

- I have 16% credit to income (75% of which is child support)

- I have 10 hard inquiries for a car loan last June that I thought would be consolidated to a single inquiry, but they still show as separate

- I have multiple late payments on mortgage (60/90 and even a 120), and car loans over the past 5 years, but none in the last 3 months and will be clean going forward 

- I also had two minor (<$500) deliquncies that I was not aware of until recently that I have paid and requested to be removed

I am working with Sky Blue to assist in credit improvement, writing disputes, etc. and am into month 3, hoping to see some results this month.  I feel as though this is primarily going to be about elapsed time and distancing myself from the lates.  But, given how positive my financial picture now is, I optimistic that I can get to 680 or even 700 later this year.  

[Anonymous]

I believe when you did your myfico signupyou got a full pull. look under your dashboard and theres a tab called view additional fico scores used in mortgage auto and bankcard decisions. If you open that up, the mortgage scores are EXACTLY what will be pulled.

[Anonymous]

Welcome to the forums!