I assume you wonder if it drops your score? It's not the same for everyone; we all have individual history. Credit checks can affect it downwards, but usually not by enough to damage your ability to rent. People looking for a car or home typically have several hits in succession. Bankers and brokers know this. Your history and other credit inquiries will have a greater influence. If there are multiple ticks during the year, you may be asked to explain it. Inquiries for multiple credit cards isn't appealing to a lender, but loans for education are generally OK, for example.

I think a score of 640 with a minimum of a 20% down payment would qualify you for a conventional/conforming loan. Read somewhere some lenders might consider a score of 600 with an even bigger down payment. But don't quote me on that. Quick fixes to the FICO score isn't the wisest of ideas - it takes a bit of time. Things fade from the report over time, but paying off a collection won't remove it from the report for seven years. Best path to take is pay bills on time. Use a credit card wisely keeping any balance low. Don't shuffle credit cards around shopping for a lower interest rate. Don't close out unused credit cards and don't open up any new ones. PS, the highest FICO score is 850 - there is another calculator (VantageScore??) which goes up to 990, I think... but a whopping big looking score on Vantage isn't any better a rating to a lender than what you'd see with the commonly used FICO scoring.

I've never heard of tri merge. When you say company Im assuming you mean lenders right? I know 21st mortgage does loans for those with sub prime credit but I'm hesitant to use them because of the not so good things I've read about them. I only know of a couple other lenders but not sure if they do loans for "high risk" borrowers..aka those with not so great credit. I am hoping they look at 20k down as a great down payment on an 80k house. I have a pamphlet I got from a dealer for 21st and they have an equity loan that requires 35% down for those with bad credit but I'm not sure exactly what an equity loan is to them. I think your right, I just need to talk to a lender and hopefully they can give me advice without me having to take the hit on my credit (i.e. They can advise without running my credit) just based on "soft" info that I give them about my credit history. Thank you for your reply :) PS if anyone has lender names and experiences they can share I would love to hear your story!

I agree she couldn't be concerned with a slight variation, but credit scores and reports are important. I think it's interesting that you think it's a scam, arcy. With excellent credit you can get the best rates and the best credit cards with rewards. Credit isn't only for people who can't afford cash. We make thousands a year in free money by responsibly using our credit in our advantage via credit card rewards/cash back and low interest rates. The best credit card perks are reserved for those with good credit. Paying attention to credit reports is also important to catch identity theft as early as possible. It's a very real problem these days. We will probably be freezing our accounts soon to help prevent it.