Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiger Uppercut
that it will, which has always annoyed me. i credit score is something u can't calculate on your own, u need to request it, yet doing so penalizes you. Effin' gubment'
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A credit inquiry can lower your score, but not by very much. Like a point or so. Inquiries do not include checking your own credit. Inquries come from thing such comparison rate shopping for credit cards/loans, opening new lines of credit (like at a furniture store), shopping for insurance, background checks etc. The reason is because acturaries have found correlations between number of credit inquries and propensity for negative things like bankruptcy and/or automobile accidents.
If you are comparision shopping you do not get nailed for each inquiry either. An inquiry is also only factored in 30 days after as well. So basically as long as you get the loan, or whatever you want, within 30 days all the credit checks don't hurt your score (for that loan). And even if they do, it is only a few points. The benefit of comparison shopping outweighs the hit on your score.
The inquiry will stay on your credit report for two years. But only factored in to your score for 1 year. So they do roll off farily quickly. A year is pretty quick considering most people do not apply for big loans or credit cards on a yearly basis anyway.
But it is always smart to play your cards right and time things well. If you are trying to apply for a loan on a house, you might want to hold off on opening up some stupid department store account until afterwards for example.
