3 Credit Scores You Need to Know About If You're Thinking About Refinancing, From myFICO

SAN JOSE, Calif., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As our government grapples with trying to protect the economy from further financial damage, one result is lower interest rates for new and refinancing mortgage related lending.  In fact, mortgage lending rates are near their lowest level in recent times. myFICO shares which credit scores you need to know about if you're thinking about refinancing your loan.

For more loan and credit education, visit myFICO's blog at https://www.myfico.com/credit-education/blog  

Attractive mortgage lending rates are driving thousands of homeowners to try and refinance their mortgage loan to reduce their monthly payment amount.  According to Fox Business, even a small 1% drop in your interest rate could result in a $173 reduction in a monthly mortgage payment¹.

At the same time, getting approved for these lower rates can be challenging given lenders have tightened their lending criteria in response to evolving and uncertain economic conditions stemming from pandemic.  If you are looking to refinance your mortgage loan, you'll want to be prepared to meet your lender's criteria and educate yourself about your FICO^® Scores as they are the credit scores most commonly used in the mortgage refinancing process.

As there are different versions of the FICO^® Score, it's important that you focus on the FICO Score versions used in mortgage lending. It is highly likely that the following FICO Score versions will be pulled on all mortgage loan applicants and from all three credit bureaus:

• FICO^® Score 5 based on Equifax data
• FICO^® Score 2 based on Experian data
• FICO^® Score 4 based on TransUnion data

You can access the scores along with the top reasons why the scores are not higher at myFICO.  Focusing your credit actions on these top reasons could help you to understand your scores and gain access to more attractive rates.

You can now focus on those mortgage-related versions in your FICO^® Score explanation report with confidence knowing they are the same versions your mortgage lender will likely access in the refinance loan review process.

¹Based on $300,000 mortgage loan with fixed interest rate of 4.5% and 30-yr term.

About myFICO

myFICO makes it easy to understand your credit with FICO® Scores, credit reports and alerts from all 3 bureaus. myFICO is the consumer division of FICO– get your FICO Scores from the people that make the FICO Scores.  For more information, visit https://www.myfico.com

SOURCE myFICO