Allow Multiple Lenders to Pull Your Credit
A home purchase is one of the largest purchases most of us will ever make – so, choosing the right lender is extremely important. But what if you’ve already allowed a lender to pull your credit? Do you have to choose between sticking with that lender that doesn’t answer your questions or lowering your credit score with another hard credit inquiry? If you follow these rules, the answer is no.
Ask for a Soft Credit Inquiry
Before you fill out an online application or allow a lender to pull your credit ask if it’s possible for the lender to perform a two-bureau soft inquiry instead of a hard credit pull. A soft credit pull does not impact your credit scores. See What is a Soft Inquiry? While the lender should not issue a preapproval letter with a soft credit pull, it provides the lender enough information – combined with your loan application – to determine your purchase price range and if you need to do some credit repair before buying.
Follow the CFPB Hard Credit Inquiry Rule
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) instituted a rule that allows multiple lenders to make hard credit inquiries without impacting your score more than once within a 45-day window. See What Exactly Happens When a Mortgage Lender Checks My Credit? To make the most of this rule, write down the date of your first mortgage lender hard credit inquiry and then calendar 44 days from that date as the last date to run a new hard inquiry. Within this window, you can have multiple lenders make hard credit inquiries without the inquiry impacting your score.