How do married couples buy a house with two credit scores?

I have a near perfect credit score. My girlfriend has a dismal credit score. If we were to get married and buy a house, do they combine our scores and created an ';average'; score to calculate our rate? I would like to use just my score for the best rate but be able to combine our incomes to buy a better hoiuse. Is this possible or common?How do married couples buy a house with two credit scores?
It depends on the mortgage company or bank that you are looking to borrow money from. Some companies will use an average of the two scores. Others will list the person with the highest credit score as the primary borrower, and the spouse with the lower score as a secondary borrower, which still allows for the combination of income, but will focus on the higher credit score for the purposes of determining the interest rate.





Every time that a lending institution runs a credit report on you, that ';inquiry'; shows up on your credit report. If you go to several banks to inquire about mortgages, and each bank runs a report, those inquiries show up, and can muddle the mortgage process. Here's why: the lending institutions see that you have great credit, but they also see that you've been looking around at lots of places to get a loan. Multiple inquiries sometimes make a bank leery, (they begin to think that you might be getting money from everywhere) and can prevent you from being able to get the best interest rate.





My advice to you is to get copies of both your and your girlfriend's credit reports. You are allowed 1 free report from each of the major credit reporting companies each year (Equifax, Experian, Trans Union). Rather than get 1 report from all three, just get a report from one of them. Even if you already have a copy, get a new one. the key is to have a recent report on hand when you meet with the banks to shop for loans.





Take this report with you to the banks. Tell them that you want to know what kind of loan amout and interest rate that you can get approved for, but that you do not want them to run a credit report at this time- if they are the bank with the best offer (terms, interest rate, lowest closing costs, etc) you will of course allow them to run the credit report before the closing of the loan, but until you have decided to do business with them, they do not need to be accessing your personal records.





Then shop around. Find the bank that offers the best terms for your needs. And it's not a bad idea to go ahead and start the process ahead of time. Many banks will give a person a ';pre-approval letter';. The bank takes an application from you, your proof of employment, old tax returns, etc, and determines what amount you will be able to qualify for. You can use this amount to help you find homes that will be in your price range.





Also, to keep up with the activity on your credit report, and to reduce damage from potential indentity theft, you can use those free credit reports to monitor your credit year round. for example: request a free copy of your report from Equifax in January, Trans Union in May, and Experian in September, then back to Equifax in January of the next year.





Good Luck!How do married couples buy a house with two credit scores?
it depends....if you go Full Doc...which means show 2 years of w-2s and current pay-stubs. The person that makes the most money is the fico(middle score from all 3 credit agencies reporting) we use. As a lender we do you the income for both of you to qualify.





If you stated income(liars loan about income). As a lender we make sure the person with the higher ficos are used for the loan.
The rule of thumb is if you can qualify on your own, you use your credit, your income, your debt. If she is on the loan to use her income, you also use her debt. Buy on your own if you can and then have her on title which is very easy at the closing. Any further questions let me know or if you are going to buy in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Florida, or Arizona let me know and we can plan a program around your needs. Good luck!
They will use the person with the highest score providing that person has a stable job.