Applying for a mortgage? Here's how it'll affect your credit score

Your credit score plays an important role in securing your mortgage. That's because lenders use it (alongside your credit report and other criteria) to determine how likely you are to repay your home loan on-time and in-full. But much like applying to any other form of credit, applying for a mortgage can impact your credit score in a number of ways.

Your credit score might take an initial hit when you apply for a mortgage because the lender will have to open up a hard inquiry into your credit report. A hard inquiry (a.k.a., a "hard pull") is when a lender pulls your credit report from one of the three main credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax or TransUnion). A hard inquiry is used any time you apply for a new credit card, a personal loan, an auto loan, or any other form of credit, so it's not exclusive to dealing with mortgages.

A hard inquiry can actually ding your credit score a few points, regardless of if you end up being approved or denied for a credit card, personal loan or mortgage.

With mortgages specifically, you'll likely be applying for a home loan from multiple lenders so you can compare your offers. In this case, your credit won't be dinged multiple times. With mortgages, you can get your credit report pulled by additional lenders with no further impact to your credit score as long as you submit additional applications within 45 days of your first credit check.

Even if your credit score takes a hit after applying for your mortgage, you can bring it back up by making all your mortgage payments (and your other bill payments) on-time and in-full each month. That's because payment history makes up 35% of your credit score.

On the other hand, if you miss a mortgage payment or are unable to pay in full one month, this can result in your credit score taking a hit. Before you accept your desired mortgage offer, make sure that the interest rate, monthly principal, PMI (if applicable) and other applicable elements of your monthly payment fall within your budget.

One way to bring down your monthly principal amount is to opt for a longer loan term — just keep in mind that a longer loan term usually means you'll pay more in interest over the life of the loan. If you think this better suits your needs, make sure you're looking at lenders that can offer this. Chase Bank and SoFi both offer mortgage options with loan terms as long as 30 years. And with SoFi, when you lock in a 30-year conventional home loan, you can also receive a 0.25% price reduction on your loan. This can potentially help you save just a little more money on your mortgage.

One other way a mortgage can have a positive impact on your credit score is by contributing to your credit mix. Credit mix makes up 10% of your credit score, according to Experian. While it isn't the most influential factor in determining your credit score, it can still show lenders that you're good at managing different kinds of credit, like a mortgage, credit cards and a car loan. That's not to say that you should apply for a mortgage just to improve your credit mix — you should only take on a mortgage if it's genuinely the best next step for your financial goals.

Consider using a credit monitoring service like CreditWise® from Capital One or Experian to help monitor your credit to ensure that there are no fraudulent or inaccurate marks on your report, which could be bringing down your credit score.

Similar to applying for and managing any other form of credit, apply for and managing a mortgage can impact your credit score in different ways. That's not to say that you should be afraid of the ways a mortgage could impact your credit score. Even if your credit score takes an initial hit after applying for a mortgage, continuing to practice healthy habits when it comes to managing your debt can help you improve your score again over time.

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