Before you begin your search for the perfect home, you have to sort out your financing. And shopping around for the best rate is essential.
“Most people start shopping for a mortgage where they do their banking,” says Corey Condrin, branch manager and mortgage loan originator with Barrett Financial Group in Seattle. “That’s a good place to start, but I wouldn’t have that be the only place.”
Other banks, credit unions and online lenders may have more competitive rates with better terms. A mortgage broker can also be a good resource when shopping for a home loan. However, you have to request rates within a certain window of time to minimize the effect on your credit score.
Here’s why comparing rates can lower your credit score: Each time you apply for a home loan, a mortgage lender does an in-depth review of your credit report. This action is referred to as a hard inquiry, and it can impact your score. To stop multiple applications from compounding damage to your credit, popular credit-scoring models treat all mortgage-related inquiries made within a specific time frame — typically 14 to 45 days — as a single event.
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Hard vs. Soft Credit Pulls: What’s the Difference?
There are two types of credit inquiries.
— Hard inquiry, or hard pull. A hard inquiry occurs when a creditor reviews your credit report after you apply for credit. A hard inquiry can hurt your credit score, and you could lose anywhere from zero to five points. Getting preapproved for a mortgage or applying for a credit card are examples of hard inquiries.
— Soft inquiry, or soft pull. A soft inquiry is a brief look at your credit report and is used for specific purposes, such as getting prequalified for a mortgage. Another example is when a credit card issuer looks at your report to determine whether you might qualify for a credit card offer. When you review your own report, that’s also an example of a soft inquiry. Soft inquiries do not affect your credit score.
When a lender requests your report to do a deep dive into the contents — a hard credit pull — each inquiry has the possibility of decreasing your credit score by zero to five points. Note that’s each time you apply. Since a few points on your credit score can mean the difference between getting the lowest interest rate or the next-lowest rate, you need to pay attention to the calendar.
While you should be aware of how inquiries affect your credit score, don’t let that stop you from shopping around. “The reality is an inquiry or two won’t noticeably lower a typical borrower’s credit score,” says Doug Perry, an advisor with Real Estate Bees and mortgage broker with Qual-Cap, in an email.
For mortgage applications, most lenders will request your report from all three major credit bureaus: Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. So it’s a good idea to look at your own credit reports before you apply for a mortgage. You want to make sure they are accurate and free from any errors that could drag down your score.
4 Common Errors to Fix Before a Mortgage Credit Check
You want to inspect your reports for errors or for signs of fraud. Here are some common mistakes on credit reports, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
— Wrong personal information. Check for identity errors, such as a wrong name, address or phone number; accounts with similarly named owners; and incorrect accounts resulting from identity theft.
— Account status errors. This might include closed accounts reported as open, accounts mistakenly labeled as delinquent or debts that wrongly appear more than once.
— Data management issues. Look for false information that reappears on a report after you corrected it or accounts that show up several times and list different creditors.
— Incorrect account balances. Review your reports for incorrect balances or credit limits. Keep in mind that there can be timing issues when you look at balances on your credit report. When payment history is reported to the bureaus, it isn’t updated instantaneously. There’s a lag time to verify the new information before the data is updated on your report.
You can receive a free copy of your credit report once a week from the three major credit bureaus.
Prequalification vs. Preapproval: Which Triggers a Hard Pull?
You can contact a lender and ask for prequalification before you start your home search. This step can keep you from wasting your time on homes that you can’t qualify for. Sometimes, this is just a conversation you have with the lender, or it could be a soft inquiry if the lender looks at your credit report.
“I can’t over-highlight how important it is to accurately know your credit score when getting preapproved,” according to Perry. “It heavily influences loan pricing and terms.” If you self-report your credit score and that number is inaccurate, you could find your actual loan terms are much different than what is initially quoted.
A prequalification indicates to a prospective seller that you appear qualified to ask for a mortgage at a certain loan amount. You’ll often get a letter stating this that you can show to your agent or to the seller. But it doesn’t mean you’d absolutely be approved for the loan, because something in your credit report or finances might come up during a hard inquiry.
“Prequalification doesn’t mean too much,” according to Sarah DeFlorio, vice president of mortgage banking with William Raveis Mortgage. That’s because it is usually based on information provided by a borrower instead of documented information.
“In some cases, people will start with one of the online (mortgage) providers,” DeFlorio says. These providers may use automated systems that rely on user-inputted data. However, there are nuances in how lenders consider some types of income, such as self-employment earnings and bonuses, and online portals may not properly account for that. “I would encourage everyone to talk to a human,” DeFlorio recommends.
If you’re confident you can afford and get approved for a certain loan amount, then you can skip prequalification and go straight for preapproval. Only take this step if you’re serious about buying a home soon. Getting preapproved means the lender will do a deep dive into your credit report and finances. This results in a hard inquiry, which can impact your score.
The 14-Day Rule: Why Your Mortgage Shopping Timeline Matters
Though getting preapproved generates a hard inquiry, you can get as many mortgage rate estimates as you like with minimal impact on your credit score if you do it within a 14-day window. This is often referred to as the “mortgage credit pull window.”
To ensure you are making an apples-to-apples comparison of rates, Condrin recommends asking lenders if they use a tri-merge credit report for preapprovals. This report blends information from all three credit reporting agencies to ensure all your financial information is used when preapproving you for a loan.
Credit checks from lenders within that window will count as a single inquiry on your credit report by the FICO score algorithm. With FICO scores, you actually have a 45-day window for rate shopping, but some older FICO scores limit it to 14 days. Likewise, VantageScore only allows a two-week period for mortgage shopping. Since you don’t know which score will be used by your lender, get your rate shopping done within two weeks.
What to Avoid While Your Mortgage Is in Underwriting
Don’t apply for credit cards, personal loans or any other type of credit until you’re approved for a mortgage. While you are trying to take out a mortgage, you should focus on protecting your credit score so it’s as high as it can possibly be.
“Once you’ve had your credit pulled, if you have any similar pulls within 45 days, it shouldn’t affect your credit,” DeFlorio says. However, that doesn’t apply to credit checks for auto loans, credit cards, personal loans or other debt. Those are not considered similar pulls and will affect your credit.
Applying for credit can not only lower your credit score, but it can also increase your debt-to-income ratio, which plays a role in whether you qualify for a mortgage. After you get approved for a mortgage and the dust has settled a bit, then you can apply for credit when you need it.
The Most Important Factor in Your Mortgage Approval: Why Payment History Is Crucial
Making timely payments should be part of your financial habits. If it isn’t, then it’s probably reflected in your credit score. Payment history is 35% of your FICO score, making it the biggest factor considered by the score’s algorithm.
So failing to pay bills on time can quickly lower your credit score. It’s essential to pay your bills on time to get approved for a mortgage, but it’s also a habit you need to adopt going forward to have a healthy credit score.
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originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 04/28/26: The story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.