How do you find best mortgage without damaging credit score?

Question

I have a few questions on trying to get my first mortgage (30 year, fixed rate). I'm first doing some comparisons using these two online tools:

https://www.zillow.com/mortgage-rates

http://www.bankrate.com/mortgage.aspx

Should I be sorting by APR value first, then by fees? I assume a lower APR in the long run will save more money than saving $2k in fees, for example.

Assuming I find a rate+fee combo that seems good to me, I'll have to get in touch with them, which will probably result in a credit check on me (lowering my score). So if I do that with a few options, and each run a credit check, won't my score be getting worse and worse as I shop around?

Thanks

Answer 1

Your headline question "How do you find best mortgage without damaging credit score?" has a simple answer.

• you go to annualcreditreport.com and make sure the report is accurate.
• then go to Credit Karma and see what your FICO score is.
• do the math, understanding what it takes to be approved for a well qualified loan. 28% of monthly gross pay to the mortgage, tax, and insurance, 36% total for all debt service.

If you have all your ducks in a row, and know what you are doing, you will get qualified. If you are like a recent client of mine, low FICO, low downpayment, random income, you might have issues. If your self-prequalification is good, you are in control, go find the best rate/ total cost, no need to put in multiple applications. If, for some reason you do, FICO sees that you are shopping for a single loan, and you are not dinged.