A New Mortgage May Temporarily Lower Your Credit Score
When a lender pulls your credit score and report as part of a loan application, the inquiry can cause a minor drop in your credit score (usually less than five points). This shouldn't be a concern, though, as the effect is small and temporary, and on its own shouldn't cause significant damage to your credit score or affect a lender's decision. In addition, credit scoring models recognize rate shopping for a loan as a positive financial move, and typically regard multiple inquiries in a limited time period as just one event. That said, this is not the time to apply for credit you don't strictly need, such as new credit cards or a student loan refinance. Save those applications for later, after the mortgage loan has closed and the house is yours. If you aren't submitting a formal loan application yet but want to get prequalified so you'll know how much house you can afford, your lender will likely base its prequalification on a "soft" inquiry. This typ...