Credit Report – Hard vs soft credit pulls

I’m looking for a Mortgage Lending company to loan me money so I can purchase a small house. So, I checked LendingTree.com to give me some ideas. And one day, I received this email I guess one of their Newsletter regarding Credit Tips. “Some vital info about your credit score” and I think it is very useful to new home buyers like me.

Soft pulls happen when you:

• Check your own score – you can do this often! It doesn’t affect your score!
• Get free loan offers
• Receive a loan pre-qualification
• Experience an employer background check
• Receive pre-approved credit card offers in the mail
• Get your LendingTree credit scores

Won’t – adversely affect your credit score

OutofCredit.com – Credit Cards Counseling

Hard pulls happen when you apply for a:

• New credit card
• Home mortgage
• Auto Loan
• Refinance of your home mortgage
• Home equity line of credit
• Store credit card
• Checking or savings account

Can – lower your credit score by quite a few points

What hurts your credit score the most. Multiple hard pulls over a long period

Limit your hard pull credit inquiries. While hard inquiries are necessary to receive credit, it is important to understand how it works. All inquiries on your credit report within a 14-day period will count as one inquiry ONLY IF you’re shopping for one of the following items – a home mortgage, home refinance, home equity loan or auto loan. Be mindful if you are tempted to open more than one credit account like a home mortgage and an auto loan or a home mortgage and a new credit card in that same period. It will count as a separate inquiry and could impact your score.

Who Tracks this Info? The most important credit bureaus do. Don’t let your score go down! Avoid getting too many hard pulls at once.

• fairIsaac
• MyFico
• TransUnion
• Experian
• Equifax

Source: LendingTree.com Credit Tips