The risk that is being ranked is the possibility that the borrower may become delinquent sometime in the next two years. Be aware of where your score is coming from. The one’s with the range you listed above are from Fair Isaac & Co and called FICO scores. The three major bureaus have a score called the Vantage score which has different ranges and is typically what they sell from their websites. Many consumers get confused when the score they purchased from a bureau is much different from the one that their broker is getting. Also, all score are revalidated every few years. As the economy changes and buying and payment patterns change, the score have to be updated to be able to predict delinquency’s accurately. Unfortunately, when the new versions come out, not all lenders update what they are using for various reasons (IT resources, scorecard updates etc). That means a FICO score pulled today on a borrower can vary based upon the version. Lastly, consumers need to be aware that scores can and do change DAILY. The score is calculated by what is in your credit report. Lenders report information monthly, but they all did it at different times. That means that new information is coming in to the bureaus every day and that your credit report is being updated based upon this. A common issue I run into with consumers is that they knew their score a few months ago and still think it is the same. If you are looking at making a major purchase with credit and think their may be an issue with your credit, you should probably check your score again. You are not penalized for checking your own score as a consumer. It will have no bearing as to how the score is calculated.

Just in case you were wondering, I have previously worked for one of the major bureaus for ten years and in the mortgage credit industry the last three. I have taught mortgage professionals on this issue.

Peter,

Thanks for chiming in.