Why free credit report scores are not accurate
Minneapolis, MN: As a mortgage loan officer, every single day, someone tells me their credit score they received from Credit Karma, some “free credit report” web site, their Discover Card statement, or even directly from the actual credit reporting agency.
Everyday, I tell them that is NOT their correct mortgage credit score.
We jokingly call those score your “Fake ‘O’ Score” – (joke for FICO score)
Why isn’t my credit score my credit score?
It is actually rather simple. There are multiple credit score models, and the models vary by what you are doing.
When you apply for a credit card, the credit card company cares most about how you handle credit cards, and the likelihood of you defaulting on a credit card. Like wise, when you apply for a car loan, the scores are based on the likelihood of you defaulting on an auto loan. The same holds true for mortgages loans.
When you obtain your credit score from ANY SITE that YOU as the consumer are able to get your credit report, you are getting a GENERIC score. That is, a score NOT based on any one industry risk factor.
It is very common for mortgage lenders to pull scores that are 20 points, even 30-points lower that you just saw on one of those other sites…. and NO, it isn’t because we pulled your credit!! That truth about inquiries NOT lowering your score is for another article