Just the Tip:
Applying with several lenders for the same mortgage, auto loan, or student loan costs your credit score no more than applying with one. Scoring models count those inquiries as one when they land within a short window. Line up every lender before you apply, then send every application within 14 days of the first.
A hard inquiry, the record a lender’s credit check leaves when you apply, stays on your credit report for two years. FICO Scores count it only for the first 12 months, and for most people it costs fewer than five points.
Skipping a second quote to protect those points is a bad trade. On a $300,000, 30-year mortgage, a 6.25% rate instead of 6.5% saves $49 a month, nearly $3,000 over five years and about $17,700 over the full term.
Scoring models also expect you to shop. FICO counts mortgage, auto loan, and student loan inquiries made within a set window as one. It ignores them for their first 30 days, so a FICO Score pulled while you’re still comparing doesn’t count the others.
The length of that window depends on the model. Newer FICO versions allow 45 days. Older FICO versions and VantageScore, the other major scoring model, allow 14. Lenders don’t all use the same model, so 14 days is the window that’s safe under all of them.
Some lenders quote a rate with a soft check, which never affects your score, so take that option wherever it’s offered. For a mortgage, ask each lender for a Loan Estimate, the standard three-page form that lays out the rate and costs so offers compare line by line.
Keep credit card applications out of the same stretch. FICO never groups those, or personal loan applications, so each one counts as its own inquiry.
If a lender has to check your credit after day 14, keep shopping. One more inquiry costs a few points, while a lower rate saves you money every month you carry the loan.
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