How can i check my mortgage credit score

What Is A Credit Score?

A credit Score is a number used by lenders as an indicator of how likely an individual is to repay his debts and the probability of going into default. It is an independent assessment of the individual's risk as a credit applicant.

CBS's Credit Score:

• A CBS Credit Score is a four-digit number based on your past payment history on your loan accounts.
• The score range from 1000 to 2000, where individuals scoring 1000 have the highest likelihood of defaulting on a payment, whereas those scoring 2000 have the lowest chance of reaching a delinquency status. Together with the score, the risk grade and risk grade description are provided.
• Your credit score is just one factor used in the application process. Other factors apart from your credit report, such as your annual salary, length of employment, bankruptcy/litigation information, number of credit facilities may also be taken into consideration by lenders during a loan application.
• CBS neither "blacklist" nor play a part in the lending approval decision which is fully undertaken by lenders and its lending policies. CBS instead, only provides specific factual credit-related information about consumers who have credit or loan facilities to the lenders.

Description of Credit Score

Factors that Affect Your Credit Score?

1. Utilization Pattern

• This refers to the amount of credit amount owed/used on accounts by individuals.

2. Recent Credit

• Lenders may perceive that you are over-extending yourself if you have newly booked credit facilities within a short period of time.
• Consumers are advised to apply for new credit in moderation.

3. Account Delinquency Data

• Presence of delinquency (late payment) on your loan accounts will reduce your credit score.

4. Credit Account History

• A consumer with long established credit history is deemed to be more favorable or a reliable borrower when compared to one who has limited or no credit history.
• Accounts with history of prompt payments will help to boost your credit rating.
• 12 months of account repayment conduct (closed and defaulted accounts are also included) as displayed under the Account Status History in your credit report is used for score calculation.

5. Available Credit

• This refers to the number of accounts available (open or active) for credit.

6. Enquiry Activity

• This refers to the number of new application enquiries found in your credit
• Each time a potential bank/financial institution pulls your credit report in response to a new loan application, an enquiry is placed on your file. Having too many enquiries in your credit report indicate to lenders that you are trying to take on more debt, therefore increasing your credit exposure.
• To keep your enquiries to a minimum, try to limit the number of loan facilities and credit cards which you apply for.
• Review enquiries on existing loan facilities do not affect your score.

Editorial Note: Credit Karma receives compensation from third-party advertisers, but that doesn’t affect our editors’ opinions. Our third-party advertisers don’t review, approve or endorse our editorial content. It’s accurate to the best of our knowledge when posted.

When it comes to getting a mortgage, there are enough numbers flying around to make any mathematician happy. Lenders will look at a number of items, which can include your credit history, your income and how much debt you have, among other things.

But one number is perhaps one of the most important numbers of all. Your FICO® scores can impact whether you get a loan or not, and if so, at what interest rate. That’s why it’s important to understand the nuances of your FICO® scores. Luckily, it’s not rocket science. Here’s the scoop on how your FICO® scores can affect your mortgage.

• What are FICO® scores, and how do I get mine?
• How do my FICO® scores affect my ability to get a mortgage?
• How can my FICO® scores affect my mortgage interest rate?
• Why is it so important to get a low interest rate on my mortgage?

What are FICO® scores, and how do I get mine?

Your FICO® scores (an acronym for Fair Isaac Corp., the company behind the FICO® score) are credit scores. It’s a sort of grade based on the information contained in your credit reports. Unlike the grades you were given in school — A through F — base FICO® scores generally range from 300 to 850. And the higher, the better.

Because there are three major consumer credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion), each with its own version of your credit report, you can also have different credit scores. For example, you can have a FICO® score based on your Equifax® credit report, a FICO® score based on your Experian® credit report, and a FICO® score based on your TransUnion® credit report. To further complicate things, you can also have VantageScore® credit scores from each bureau.

Additionally, FICO also creates many different credit-scoring models for lenders in different industries. So your base FICO® scores may not be the same ones a mortgage lender sees if they request your mortgage-specific FICO® scores, for example.

You probably don’t need to worry about all these nuances when buying a home, but you should still have an idea of what your scores look like. You can get your VantageScore® 3.0 credit scores (based on similar factors to your FICO® scores) from Equifax and TransUnion for free on Credit Karma.

If you want to see your FICO® scores, however, you can easily buy them online from the MyFICO website, and possibly find them for free from your bank or credit card issuer.

How do my FICO® scores affect my ability to get a mortgage?

Lending a huge amount of money is risky business. That’s why mortgage lenders need a good way to quantify the risk, and your FICO® scores — with all of the data and research that go into them — fit the bill.

Different lenders have different requirements for their loans. And because there are many different types of mortgages from many different types of lenders, there’s no one single minimum FICO® score requirement.

How can my FICO® scores affect my mortgage interest rate?

When a loan officer gets your mortgage application, they may use a pricing grid to figure out how your credit scores affect your interest rate, says Yves-Marc Courtines, a chartered financial analyst with Boundless Advice. Generally, higher scores can mean a lower interest rate, and vice versa.

From there, a mortgage loan officer will likely look at the rest of your loan application to decide whether your base interest rate needs any adjustments. For example, if you’re making a smaller down payment, you may be given a higher interest rate, says Courtines.

A bank’s pricing grid may change on a daily basis depending on market conditions. However, here’s an example of what you might expect your base interest rate to be, based on your credit score, on a $216,000, 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage.

Source: myFICO, November 2020.

Why is it so important to get a low interest rate on my mortgage?

You probably already know that a lower interest rate means a smaller monthly payment. But do you know just how big of an effect a smaller monthly payment can have?

Let’s look at an example. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in March 2018 the average sales price of a new home sold in the United States was $366,000. If you were to go to the closing table with a 20% down payment and opted for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, here’s how much it would cost you over time depending on your interest rates.

In this example, boosting your credit before you get a mortgage could save you $284 per month, $3,408 per year, and $102,183 over the life of your loan! What would you do with all of that extra cash?

Pro tip: Use our credit score simulator to learn more about what could impact your credit scores.

Bottom line

Your FICO® credit scores are important factors that can affect your ability to get a mortgage. It’s like a pizza crust: Sure, other toppings are important (like marinara sauce, cheese and pepperoni), but many believe it’s the crust that makes the pizza.

If your base credit scores aren’t very good, you may end up with a mediocre cardboard-crust school-cafeteria pizza (or a pricey mortgage, in this case … so it might be a good idea to try to improve your credit beforehand). But if you have higher credit scores, you may be able to get the mortgage equivalent of an artisanal wood-fired pizza. Which one would you choose?

About the author: Lindsay VanSomeren is a freelance writer living in Kirkland, Washington. She has been a professional dogsled racer, a wildlife researcher, and a participant in the National Spelling Bee. She writes for websites such a… Read more.

How can you check your credit score at home?

What credit score is need for a mortgage?

What is the difference between a credit score and a mortgage credit score?

Do they check credit for mortgage?