I am trying to get a mortgage and keep hearing about FICO scores. How can I find out what a good "score" is and how can I find out what my FICO score is? My credit is less than perfect and I am trying to find out where I am and where I need to be. Thanks.
A good first step would be to contact the three major credit bureaus and get a copy of your report from each. These are: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. All have web sites. Your FICO score won't be on any of your reports. If you'd like to get your FICO score and an explanation of what it means, consider visiting eloan.com. Eloan.com will give you your credit score online if you fill out a form. Be advised that eloan.com's service, though free, will result in an inquiry to your credit file. Several inquiries in a short period of time can lower your score. If you haven't applied for credit in awhile, eloan's inquiry likely won't hurt your score. A lot of people lack the courage to take a look at their credit files. In my experience, the only way you can hope to rebuild your credit life is to toughen up to that fear, order the reports and start thinking about ways to repair the damage. Much good luck.
You can get your FICO score from the information in your Equifax credit file from www.e-loan.com. There's no charge, but an inquiry will appear on your credit report. As far as the scores go, for a mortgage, anything over 680 will be offered the best of the available deals. You need at least a 620 to meet the underwriting standards of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Lower than that and your fees and interest rate will be higher. It won't be impossible to get a mortgage, but you will pay more. I have a friend who is a mortgage broker who told me that his bank is coming out with a true 0% down payment mortgage for people with absolutely superb credit (All 3 scores (one from each CRA) over 700). It may not be right, but for now, credit scores are the biggest factor in the mortgage business.
The best place, I think, for this type of info is www.bayhouse.com (just a "user", no interest whatsoever). Also "www.creditscoring.com" As referred in the prior post, a 620 and up score will get you in the game. Below that is a problem (but you can still get a mortgage). A 680 breaks you into a better territory. 720 puts you in roses. But, regardless, of your FICO score you still need to meet the debt-to-income ratios, stability in job and address, as well as the property's being able to collateralize the loan amount. Do general searches on the web for "FICO", "CREDIT SCORE", "CREDIT SCORING". Visit loan sites such as www.keystrokenet.com, www.creditinfocenter.com, and www.ftc.com. These are just a VERY few of the MANY MANY sites that deal with credit scores. A few hours on the web, and you will be an EXPERT!!
Forgot to add, that as JEdgar says, if you do e-loan, an inquiry WILL appear on your report, and inquiries do, *in general*, depress your score somewhat for a period of time (6- 12 months is where the major impact occurs). Also, having read several posts on bayhouse.com , it seems that the e-loan FICO scores seem to be tracking lower than the scores gotten immediately prior to the posters' "application". One reputable poster on that board reported that her valid FICO score from just a few days prior to the e-loan pull was 100 points lower! (a 650 vs. a 749). Suppositions abound, but no real good ideas have surfaced as to why this appears to be the case.
