myFICO simulator + FICO Score 8 and Mortgage Scores

[Anonymous]

Hi all, 

New member here and I just recently started learning more about credit scores since I'm going to (hopefully) be in the market to purchase a home in less than a year. I signed up for the myFICO Premier plan a few days ago (had Equifax product before) and I've been doing some lurking/reading around here. Thank God I finally realized Equifax credit score wasn't the "real score" LOL

My question, How accurate is the simulator found within the myFICO product? A few details before I elaborate:

• Current FICO Score 8 is EQ 790, TU 770, EX 773
• Mortgage Scores: EQ 731, TU 723, EX 732
• 1 Mortgage Acct: opened 2003, almost 50% paid off
• 2 Installment loans: Auto lease & Student loan
• 3 Revolving CC: 2 Citi cards recently paid off about 4 mos. ago + 1 Discover (I'm an authorized signer on)
• Newest Acct: auto lease, opened 2018 (have 6 pmts, total $3k, left to payoff, turn in and probably take another lease)
• Student Loan: bal $3k left to pay on orig $5k
• Oldest CC: Citibank, opened 1998, $0 bal, credit line $5k
• Second CC: Citibank, opened 2000, $75 bal, credit line $7.6k
• Discover: opened 2006, high 83% utilization, $17k bal, credit line $21k (mom's acct, she just started paying it down agressively with larger monthly pmts)
• My only negative: Toyota old auto loan, 30 days late, reported to all 3B, Jan 2014

So based on the simulator, the what if scenario of "Pay all your bills on time for 5 months" or "Age report by 5 months", would increase my scores by approx. 50 points. Fico 8 Scores would jump to EQ 830, TU 830, EX 828.

What I'm trying to understand is if the simulator is somewhat accurate or it's way off? Another question I have is trying to understand scoring... if my FICO Score 8 increases does that mean my Mortgage score will also increase? The only thing I can tie this 50 pts. simulator increase to is the 30 days late pmt... if I'm right, it will fall off my report in 4 mos. (Jan 2021).

Another loaded question, and this might be for another topic but I'll ask anyway, should I have my mom remove me as an authorized signer on her Discover Card since she has a high utilization on it? The simulator doesn't show any options for that account, maybe because I'm just an authorized signer on it?

Looking forward to responses and please feel free to point me to reading material I might have missed/overlooked that will help me understand more. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I can say with almost 100% certainty that removing yourself as an AU on that card will increase your scores, substantially.

The simulator is kind of good? I believe the simulator can predict score changes due to aging and payments (but it doesn't tell you what is being paid or by what amount in the simulation). 

You can dispute the Discover account with the bureaus to remove it faster and assuredly.

Mortgage scores typically trail FICO 8 scores, I'd assume removing a near-maxed account (AU) will help it a lot.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I can say with almost 100% certainty that removing yourself as an AU on that card will increase your scores, substantially.

The simulator is kind of good? I believe the simulator can predict score changes due to aging and payments (but it doesn't tell you what is being paid or by what amount in the simulation). 

You can dispute the Discover account with the bureaus to remove it faster and assuredly.

Mortgage scores typically trail FICO 8 scores, I'd assume removing a near-maxed account (AU) will help it a lot.

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I follow you... I was thinking about that Discover auth signer acct as well. As of right now, I agree, it's more of a negative. But how about if she continues to pay it down aggresively... would it provide a substantial benefit to ride it out and keep myself on as auth signer? Or should I just get myself off and focus on my own accts?

[AllZero]

@Anonymous  When do you plan to apply for mortgage?

Are you trying to increase your MMS above 731?

Generally, the AU account should be a benefit, not a detriment. You want age of account to be older than your own, you have older accounts at 1999 and 2000 open dates. Zero utilization for the older FICO scoring model. Utilization padding, however, your primary accounts have low utilization so the credit limit is not a factor.

[AllZero]

Early Exclusion:
You can request for EE Early Exclusion on your derogatory / delinquency from:

TransUnion - 6 months early.
Experian - 3 months early.
Equifax - 1 month early. I would not recommend requesting EE. Let derogatory / delinquency fall off naturally.

Call up TransUnion . Front line csr may be able to assist. If not, request to speak with a supervisor to have the delinquency / derogatory removed. You may not see a score improvement until the last late is removed. However, since EE request is a simple process might as well take advantage of it.

[AllZero]

Free mortgage scores

EX2 + 3 Bureau scores and reports for $1 at Experian or CreditCheckTotal (part of Experian). Cancel in 7 days or less to avoid the reoccurring charge.

TU4 WyHy quarterly score. Not sure on membership requirement. Maybe hard pull TU?

EQ5 Get a savings account with DCU. Soft pull EQ to be a member. Free monthly score.

[AllZero]

I would recommend reading the below from ABCD2199
The Truth about Credit Card Utilization
My 11 Rules to Credit Rebuilding
FICO Score: What to pay down first?

From Birdman7
General Scoring Primer and Version 8 Master Thread rev.5.17.20

[Anonymous]

The simulator is garbage.  They all are really.  That 30D late is going to keep your scores from exceeding 800 or so.  So whether you go 5 months, 10 months etc. until the 30D is gone you won't see the 820-830 or whatever scores the simulator is claiming.  When I plug my data into the simulator it says my score should be in the 755-805 range when it's 850, so that right there tells you what I think of it.

I would get rid of the AU account.  You can always add yourself back on later if/when the utilization is back down to a comfortable range.  As for your two Citi cards, have you ever done any (SP) CLI requests?  My guess is no since they still have 4-figure limits and you've had them 20+ years.  On a healthy profile one can generally obtain a Citi CLI via SP every 6 months, so no harm in starting to ask as you could easily get them to 5-figure limits. 

Keep in mind that if you're looking toward a mortgage it is not advised to open any new accounts in the 12 months leading up to it.  I know you mentioned possibly a new lease coming up.  That new account will drop you AoYA to 0 months and adversely impact your Fico scores, especially the mortgage scores that you care about most.  If I were you I'd try to put off a new lease, or if you have to do it extend your time frame in looking for that mortgage to 12 months following the new lease.

I would also suggest trying to get that 30D late removed via GW.  I have no idea how easy or difficult Toyota is with those sort of things, but based on its age and your otherwise clean report it's possible.  In your letter tell them you're interested in applying for a new lease/loan with them, but with the 30D late present you're reluctant to do so.  This gives them a financial "reason" to do you a solid and remove it, as they may see the opportunity of a new account as being worth the adjustment.  You can read a thread on how to send out GW letters and increase your chances of success here:

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/The-Saturation-Technique-Best-GW-adjustment-o...

[Anonymous]

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@AllZero wrote:

@Anonymous  When do you plan to apply for mortgage?

Are you trying to increase your MMS above 731?

Generally, the AU account should be a benefit, not a detriment. You want age of account to be older than your own, you have older accounts at 1999 and 2000 open dates. Zero utilization for the older FICO scoring model. Utilization padding, however, your primary accounts have low utilization so the credit limit is not a factor.

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@AllZero Will probably be looking at around May/June 2021 to apply for [another] mortgage... so I have a bit of time. My middle score right now for Mortgage shows 731 but I'd like to get it as high as possible by the time I'm ready to apply next year. I haven't been researching that long so I don't know what a reasonable expectation to shoot for is... but would I be crazy to shoot for a 750 or better Mortgage score?

Addt'l Info: That Discover acct that I'm an auth signer on should be brought down to about 50% utilization by April 2021.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

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@AllZero wrote:

I would recommend reading the below from ABCD2199
The Truth about Credit Card Utilization
My 11 Rules to Credit Rebuilding
FICO Score: What to pay down first?

From Birdman7
General Scoring Primer and Version 8 Master Thread rev.5.17.20

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Thank you for the links, I just bookmarked them so I can start reading up.