Determining Your Credit Score
The three main Credit Reporting Agencies are Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. Most mortgage lenders will report to all three of these companies. Each company will however use slightly different methods of calculating your score so you will probably have three different scores from each agency.
Your Credit score is determined by the following estimated percentage breakdown:
- 35% Payment history
- 30% Outstanding debt
- 15% Length of your credit history
- 10% Recent inquiries on your credit report
- 10% Types of credit in use
Below is a table showing a sampling of possible different score ranges and how they can affect a mortgage payment:
| Score | Rating | Extra Cost per month for a $200,000 Mortgage |
|---|---|---|
| 720+ | Perfect | $0 |
| 680-719 | Excellent | $0 |
| 660-679 | Average | $98 |
| 640-659 | Fair | $292 |
| 620-639 | Low | $423 |
| Below 620 | Poor | $505 |