Credit and what is important

From one of our credit reporting companies:

You have heard the myth before about inquiries lowering your credit scores. But is this REALLY true?

The truth is 10% of your total score consists of your accumulation of new debt. The bureaus do monitor how much new credit you are applying for. And if you are applying for a lot of new credit in a short period of time, your scores WILL go down.

Keep in mind; this is only if you apply for a substantial amount of new credit or if you are applying for a lot of "like" credit such as a bunch of auto inquiries.

If you go to apply for a mortgage, all mortgage inquiries in a 2 week time period ONLY count as 1 inquiry on your credit report. 

Your scores are impacted if you apply for A LOT of new credit. So if you apply for a Sears and Chase card this week, your scores might only go down 1-2 points on an 850 point scale.

But if you apply for 9 credit cards this week, your scores WILL go down. The scores are lower when the credit bureaus see a problem with either a lot of new debt being applied for.

Your scores will also be lower if you have a bunch of inquiries for one particular industry. So if you have 12 auto lenders pull your credit, the bureaus see this as an issue with you getting approved and lower your scores accordingly.

So YES your scores will go down if you apply for a lot of credit in a short period of time. But don't worry, applying for a car, home, or credit card only a few times really has a minimal impact on your credit scores.

Don't apply for too much new credit too fast to insure you have a healthy credit profile and healthy financial future

Article from EC Elite Credit Inc. ^{TY Crandall}