Don't Pull My Credit

I have been in the mortgage business for nearly 7 years. One of the biggest misconceptions that I run into is that pulling your credit report numerous times will hurt a credit score. I find that sometimes new borrowers are reluctant to have their scores pulled because of this belief. They believe that their scores will drop considerably if everyone is pulling it. The reality is that you can pull your mortgage credit report unlimited times in a 14 day period from the first pull and it will count as one pull.

It is a known fact that borrowers will talk to a couple of different lenders prior to selecting a company to go with. It is just part of the research and fact finding process. It is a ploy by some lenders to tell their clients not to have other brokers pull their report. To a broker that has already pulled credit, this improves their chance of securing the loan instead of another broker. They scare the potential borrower into believing that their credit will be ruined if they have other people obtain reports, thus potentially risking the homebuyer’s ability to obtain a loan that serves the consumer versus one that serves the mortgage originator.

The problem with this is that a borrower may miss out on better loan terms and lower closing costs. If a lender tells you not to have anyone else pull your credit for these reasons, you may want to talk to someone else. They are not being honest with you. The end result is that it could cost you thousands of dollars over the term of your loan. An honest lender will give you this information. They are confident in their services and don’t have to rely of sleezy scare tactics to earn your business.

If you want to know what your score is, you can pull it yourself. If you pull it on your own it does not count as a pull. Be sure that you pull a mortgage credit report. This will be more accurate for assessing your ability to get a loan and the types of rates that you will be able to get. Most of the free credit reports online are consumer credit reports. They are similar but are not accepted as a valid report in the mortgage industry. You can go to www.getprequalified.com to order a free credit report. You will also find other useful services to get started on the home buying process.

Dave Mason
Mortgage Broker