When you apply for a home loan does it effect your credit?

Angel asked:


We will be out of debt this month, but i have found out recently that paying off your debt wont really change your credit until you start to rebuild, so i want to go ahead and start to see what kind of home loans/ VA loan i can be approved for. However, i want to know if applying and being denied or applying too many times will effect my credit. This will be our first home so I want to look around to get the best offer, but i dont want that to look bad on my credit. My husband is military so VA loan is a possability too. Please let me know if you have any info. Thanks
Can you get a quote on an interest rate without it effecting your credit so you know what to expect before you actualy apply for a loan? Like doing the qoutes online through certian compainies, will that effect my credit?
Does pre-qualifying effect you credit?
My husband is on active duty in Arizona right now, but were from Mississippi so were living out here but were going back to Mississippi at the end of the year, we have no home there so we have reseach everything out here before we go home, thats were some of the problems start. how do you get pre-qualified from across the country?

Theresa

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5 Responses to “When you apply for a home loan does it effect your credit?”

1. thejadessss Says:
   March 21st, 2009 at 6:10 am

   Tina

   Each time somebody accesses your credit history your credit score goes down, so its better to shop around for the best interest rate first then apply to your first choice and if necessary your second but keep the amount of inquirers down

2. tremkosfarm Says:
   March 22nd, 2009 at 3:28 am

   Jon

   It is very hard to apply for a home loan if you have no credit score as they run a credit check. I know from experience now because I am working for a mortgage company and have recently worked with a couple who had credit problems and they cleared the problems up only to discover that in doing so they wiped their history out. VA is probably the best way to go as they require very little if nothing down and they don’t go so in depth I believe. My ex and I got our first loan that way and we had a credit score not so great but managed to get our first house that way. Wish I knew what state you were in I might be able to help as the company I work for deals with people that are hard to mortgage..

3. MusicMan5537 Says:
   March 24th, 2009 at 6:28 pm

   Judy

   Well, first of all, go to a Mortgage Company and get pre-qualified.
   They will look over all your expenses (bills) and assets (income) and see if you can even buy a house. They will also determine how much house you can buy. No sense falling in Love with a 150,000.00 house if you only qualify for a 80,000.00 house.
   Then go from there. OH, also if the first Mortgage Company denies you, try another one. I had this experience and almost quit looking; then I tried another company and they qualified me and also financed me.
   Good luck.

4. Pete S Says:
   March 24th, 2009 at 8:28 pm

   Jane

   Great question!

   The answer: Depends.

   There’s a great book out there for you called, “Personal Finance 101 - A Beginner’s Guide” that you can get at or at Amazon.com.

   When you apply for a loan (or have any credit check done) that creates a notice to the credit bureaus that your credit has been looked at. If you have too many of those over time, then that lowers you credit score. The trick is to apply for credit or have your credit checked multiple times within a 2-week period. That will create only one hit, as far as credit checks go.

   YOU can check your credit any time (and multiple times) and it won’t show up as a hit at all. Do a credit check yourself with all three bureaus (with credit score–you have to pay for the scores, but can check your credit once a year for free). Then, take the credit check to the banks or mortgage companies to have them look it over to see what kind of rates you’ll get.

   If you go on-line for a mortgage quote, they force you to give your SSN, birthdate, etc. so they can do a check. What I would suggest (and what my wife and I recently did) was to talk with a GOOD real estate agent (how do you find one in your area?–talk with a LOT of people to find out who they recommend, then go to interview the RE agent to see where they rank in their company’s list of top performers–ours was the top in CA for the past 5 years running) and have them recommend two or three great loan brokers. Once again, you have to interview them to see what they can do for you and if it fits your situation.

   Have FUN with the process, and remember to take at least 1 day a week out for you and your family–otherwise tempers get short and stress levels rise.

5. Plain Jane Says:
   March 27th, 2009 at 2:06 pm

   Heidi

   Did you know that you could be pre-qualified for a loan and then search for the house you want. You do not need to change lenders with every house you look at.
   My Daughter was pre-qualified by a lender and then she knew the price range she needed to be looking for. She looked at several houses and used the lender she was pre-qualified with.
   Also I want to mention, when a lender checks your credit it takes points away from your credit score. They usually check with three different credit bureaus. Check with the lender of your choice see if they have a problem with you ordering your own credit reports. If you are the one ordering a copy of your credit report no points are deducted. This is something my daughters lender had her do.

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