I spoke to re. agent this morning and she was rather pushy for us to get a pre approval over the phone right away. I didn't go for it, just not ready yet. She told me that it is a falacy that your credit score will drop if she pulls the report to pre-approve. She said the only way it will drop is if we actually take the loan. This doesn't sound right to me? Anyone have any insight?
Lisa, She's right and she's wrong. Your score COULD drop because their company is going to pull a hard inquiry. Whether your score drops or not is based on your personal credit report. The more inquiries someone has (and a higher FICO score) inquiries have a much smaller impact then for someone who has a low score and only one or two inquiries. In all likelyhood your score could drop a few points, depending on the above. If you don't feel comfortable with her pulling your report yet don't do it. I have learned if they pull your report, without looking at your W2s, bank statements, and other financial assets the preapproval is usually for a smaller amount then if they looked at your income, assets, etc. When we went for a mortgage our preapprovals varied by $80K (that's quite a difference). Good luck. Dani
Number one, if you get a hard inquiry, your score will probably drop about 6 points for the first one if you had none in the last year and your score is between 630 and 690. Number two, if you go to http://www.myfico.com and pull your own score, you don't take a hit on the score. Tell them the score you pulled and see if they will take that number and give you a rough idea of what you will qualify for. Good luck house hunting.
