Most all lending institutions use the same criteria in loaning money for secured residential and/or commercial mortgages. The borrower who shows an excellent FICO credit score can pretty much write his/her own ticket in terms of the mortgage interest rate. Perhaps even get the lender to slice some fees off the cake to sweeten the deal and keep you from going down the street to another lender.
But what about those borrowers who are not as fortunate! Well, maybe all borrowers should know how lenders marry all the credit scores versus interest rates together. It’s one reason why you should spend a few bucks and get recent credit reports from all the reporting agencies: Experian, TransUnion, Equifax to see where you stand prior to applying for a mortgage loan.
Just how much your credit score can really effect your mortgage interest rate is not all that complicated. However, not all agencies will have the same FICO score. One could show 633, another 677, still another 654. Most lenders use the middle score as a loan guideline. In this case: 654 would probably produce an interest rate on the high end since 654 will show some 30 to 60 date late payments. Not good.
Borrowers trying to solve the mystery of how scores can effect mortgage interest rates should be cognizant of how lenders set the playing field. Bad credit is a score below 599. Poor credit 600 to 649. Fair credit 650 to 699. Good credit 700 to 749, and excellent credit 750 plus. Lenders won’t bother with the bad and poor borrowers. Fair credit will get a decent interest rate, and good credit close to the best rate the lender offers. If a borrower shows up with an excellent credit rating, the lender will be shining the borrowers shoes.