Brandon's Mortgage News

As a mortgage lender, I don't know how many times I've had clients tell me what they thought was their credit score, only to find out differently when they applied with me.

"Why is that?" one might ask.  I too have asked the same question before, so I did some research and what I found out astounded me. 

Most of the websites you see advertised on TV or top your Google search results offer you a "free" credit report and your "free" credit scores if you sign up for their trial offer for monthly credit monitoring.

What they don't explain very well is that the credit score they give you isn't the same score the lenders get with we pull it.  This is because most lenders use the FICO© Score provided by Fair Isaac.  There are actually three credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union) and each of them have a FICO© Score with different names. 

What has happened is that each of these agencies have also developed their own credit score models with names like PLUS score, and Vantage Score.  These have been developed so that they don't have to pay Fair Isaac for pulling each score.  These other types of scores good indicators of how your credit is, but is not your real FICO© score. 

When applying for any loan, especially a mortgage, knowing your true FICO© score is imperative.  MyFICO.com is a website that delivers some of the same great services these other sites offer such as credit monitoring, score tracking and identity theft protection.  More importantly, they can provide you with your true FICO© score.  It isn't a "free" score, but as the saying goes, you get what you pay for.

Click here or click on the link below to try it out and know what your true FICO© Score is and you can get a 30-day trial of their Score Watch service.