This may be well-known, but it was hammered home to me when I recently looked at year-old scores. My Mortgage 5, Auto 5 and Bankcard 5 scores are the same or worse than a year ago, while the rest are significantly improved.
The only significant differentiators are new bucket (a 30-day late fell, leaving me with a clean slate), an AAoA which dropped from 100 to 85 monthsTT, and a corresponding increased delta between AAoA and AoOA (19 years then, 20 years now). My aggregate util remains below 8.9%. At ~2%, it's likely lower now than it was then.
Compared with a year ago, my EQ FICO 8 is up 55; the Bankcard 8, 56. All the FICO* 9 scores are up.
In contrast, the Mortgage and Auto 5 scores are the same (774, 795), while the Bankcard 5, at 787, is 12 points lower than a year ago.
The unsurprising bottom line: if you plan to get a mortgage or car loan (or really want that shiny new card), don't app for at least 6 months beforehand.
Actually inquiries count for the full year no fading on EQ FICO 5.
If you're really prepping for a mortgage and you're not so far above 740 it doesn't matter, just stop apps altogether as any inquiry within a year could knock you down a tier which might be an additional .25 or .50 on your rate, and seems suboptimal for getting a credit card or whatever. Some exception for refinancing loans to clear the DTI hurdle, but otherwise for those of us that weren't gold plated going into a mortgage app, it's best to put as much lipstick on the pig as possible.
Hmmm. Excellent data point. Still, most of my INQs were in the latter half of 2017. Perhaps a comparable number since then, so I'd have thought that there'd be no difference between a year ago & now.
That said, your point is well-taken that if one anticipates needing a mortgage, one should stay on the wagon for at least a year beforehand.
@expatCanuck wrote:Hmmm. Excellent data point. Still, most of my INQs were in the latter half of 2017. Perhaps a comparable number since then, so I'd have thought that there'd be no difference between a year ago & now.
That said, your point is well-taken that if one anticipates needing a mortgage, one should stay on the wagon for at least a year beforehand.
There's not that many breakpoints for inquiries at least on EQ FICO 5, maybe only 3 of them actually: somewhere between 0/1, 3 for me, and there's one more I think higher at like 7/8... so depending how it works out you might not see that much score difference between them.
But when even on a dirty file (tax liens) I could take a 7 point swing, well, anyone who's looked at a mortgage rate sheet knows a 700 is way better than a 693 for many products: fortunately EQ was my low score and I cleared 720 on TU/EX but it really drove home the point of staying uber clean if one needs a mortgage.
I might have that again if I get stuck moving to SF for my job and I have a new account and 2 inquiries depressing my score: might be only a tiny condo in Oakland in terms of housing, but it's still a mortgage and California is still expensive compared to most of the states. I really hope I don't have to do that just sayin' though I guess portfolioing real estate isn't a bad plan financially but California real estate is already kinda topped out currently and unless my TU FICO 4 with a 60D late on it somehow is above 740, I'm sitting at a 720 tier as a result.
Maybe I can stretch the move out to April or May and this goes away at 1 year:
1. You recently missed a payment or had a derogatory
indicator reported on your credit report.
Think one could rationally say I know my credit scores too well =/.
@Revelate wrote:
...Think one could rationally say I know my credit scores too well =/.
On that score, I think you're in good company on this forum. I've been looking forward to the first couple of months of 2019, when my rap sheet was finally expunged.
