Credit Scores?

Question

I am trying to buy a house, I'm getting turned down due to my credit score but my ratios and income are fine.

The lenders say it is 576 and I need 580 but when I check it I get 590? Why is it different for me and them?

Answer 1

Just like there are different versions of operating systems for computers such as Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, etc... the 3 main credit bureaus also have different versions of their software available as well. One lender may use an outdated or a previous version of a credit scoring system, while the next lender may use the most updated credit scoring system. Therefore, this is the most likely reason for the scoring differences. Also, your score could have increased or decreased between the first pull and the next pull. Credit scores can change daily due to a variety of factors. Most mortgage lenders will use your middle credit score for qualifying purposes and you may be looking at a different score other than your middle score and this could explain the difference as well. Read the credit scoring pages below for more information on credit.

Answer 2

You should first ask which company they are getting the score from, the 3 credit giants usually havescores which vary a bit. Once you have your copy of the credit report, you should make sure the info is valid and dispute anything that you feel is incorrect. Watch the number of inquiries because certain inquiries affect your score like car dealerships a certain amount within a few days will count as one, but if you are visiting one dealership per weekend or so they all count as individual inquiries which can lower your score, also, your debt ratio can lower it, so many two bureaus are reporting an account that that a third isnt (this happened to me). Finally there is a great credit card forum at http://www.cardratings.com/forum/index.php which helped me raise my credit a great deal. Good luck

Answer 3

Ask the lenders where they are getting the score from. Remember that there are three credit reporting agencies and they don't share their records with each other thus it is not unusual for Experian to say one thing and TRW another.

Wouldn't be a bad idea to contact the credit reporting agencies and get a report; go over it line by line and use their process to correct any inaccuracies. You may be surprised what you find.

Answer 4

Errors; you could fix this easily through credit repair. The 590 you are seeing is erroneous and the 576 is wrong too. Usually companies charge hundreds of dollars to simply pull your credit and send correctly worded dispute letters—this is the key…..people will tell you that you can do this yourself for free but the truth of the matter is that the credit bureaus will throw your letters away or simply reject them. There is an easy to use online kit that will deliver the results you want available for just $19.95 at the source website. A similar kit is being sold via infomercials and radio talk shows for seventy dollars more but they try to solicit you repeatedly for other services after the fact.

Answer 5

They're using a different scoring system or a different credit reporting agency. There are 3 major ones and they all score things a bit differently.

Answer 6

Buy something with a credit card and pay the entire balance when you get the bill, this will boost your score.