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How Credit Scoring Can Affect Your Interest Rate

By
Mortgage and Lending with Tippecanoe Mortgage

In the 1960s, Fair Isaac Corporation started working on a system lenders could use to evaluate the likelihood of receiving repayment on loans. Prior to that, it was really a matter of trusting an individual to be a "man of his word," so to speak. Fair Isaac sought to take human error out of the equation with a reliable system that could determine whether or not consumers were truly worthy of credit, and thus FICO was born. This evolved to become the standard for lenders by the 1980s.

Credit scoring has an enormous impact on a borrower's ability to purchase a home. It can mean the difference between getting a good interest rate and the home of their dreams, or whether they even qualify at all. For this reason, it is important to understand the credit scoring process, and know what your credit score is when you look to obtain mortgage financing.

What the credit scoring model seeks to quantify is how likely the consumer is to pay off their debt without being more than 90 days late on a payment at any time in the future. Credit scores can range between a low score of 300 and a high of 900. Most commonly, we deal with scores ranging from 400 to 800. The higher the client's score is, the less likely they are to default on their loan. Only a rare one out of approximately 1300 people in the United States have a credit score of above 800. These are the slam-dunk clients that walk away with the best interest rates. On the other hand, one out of eight prospective home buyers are faced with the possibility that they may not qualify for the loan they want because they have a lower score between 500 and 600. Here is a sample chart that illustrates how an underwriter interprets the score in terms of risk, and how the interest rate is affected.

how your credit scorce affects your interest rate
 

 

Don Frazier

Your Local Mortgage Services:

Don Frazier
Mortgage Consultant

Office:  765-446-2930                                   
Email:  dfrazier@tippecanoemortgage.com

Website: www.IndianaMortgageMan.com

 

Mortgage services for Greater Lafayette and West Lafayette Indiana, Purdue University, Tippecanoe County and the surrounding Indiana Communities.  We are a Local Company with a National Reach! Visit my website for great home loan information: http://www.indianamortgageman.com/

 

Show All Comments Sort:
Ron Avneri
Seattle, WA
Financial Professional

Thanks for the info Don

t's too bad fico scoring is so unreliable.

I believe that's why we look at the credit history above the score.

Feb 10, 2008 05:25 AM