You've been taught that you shouldn't have your credit report pulled a lot because your FICO score might be reduced. That's good advice. Back in the 90s, the credit bureaus couldn't determine which type of institution was pulling your credit. The program used to analyze your credit "thought" you were broke and desperately seeking loans to rectify your (false) situation when it noticed multiple credit inquiries.
That isn't the case today. From MyFico.com:
Will my FICO score drop if I apply for new credit?
If it does, it probably won't drop much. If you apply for several credit cards within a short period of time, multiple inquiries will appear on your report. Looking for new credit can equate with higher risk, but most credit scores are not affected by multiple inquiries from auto, mortgage or student loan lenders within a short period of time. Typically, these are treated as a single inquiry and will have little impact on the credit score.
- Feel free to shop for a mortgage loan. Here is how to organize your documentation so that you can shop multiple lenders efficiently.
