A mortgage lender doesn't pull one credit report. It pulls all three, from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, and a credit reporting agency merges them into a single document with a score from each bureau. That's the tri-merge, and it's the report the underwriter approves your loan from.
What's inside
- Three scores, one per bureau, using the FICO versions built for mortgage lending. They're often different from the scores in a banking or card app.
- Every account, with its balance, credit limit, minimum payment and month-by-month payment history. Accounts reported to more than one bureau are lined up so they aren't counted twice.
- Collections, charge-offs and public records such as a bankruptcy, with dates.
- Recent inquiries, which lenders may ask you to explain.
- Identity details: names, addresses and employers on file.
Why lenders pull all three
Creditors don't all report to every bureau, so each file can be missing something the others have. Pulling three gives the underwriter the full credit history, and it gives the buyer a fairer score: the lender uses the middle one, so a single bureau with a stray mistake doesn't sink the approval. That middle number becomes your representative credit score.
Reading the report like an underwriter
Here's part of a tri-merge for Luis, who wants a $300,000 home with FHA.
| Equifax | Experian | TransUnion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Score | 596 | 611 | 583 |
| Utility collection, $420 | Not reported | Not reported | Reported |
| Store card, $2,600 balance | No minimum listed | No minimum listed | No minimum listed |
Scores. Sorted, they're 583, 596 and 611. The middle score is 596, which clears FHA's 580 mark, so Luis's down payment is 3.5% ($10,500) instead of the 10% ($30,000) required from 500 to 579. The collection on TransUnion is likely why that score trails.
Collection. FHA doesn't require collections totaling under $2,000 to be paid off to close, so the $420 balance doesn't block the loan.
Store card. With no minimum payment on the report, FHA and Fannie Mae count 5% of the balance, or $130 a month. Luis's actual minimum is $35. A current statement showing $35 lets the lender use the real figure, which takes $95 a month off his debts.
Before the pull
Look over your free reports from all three bureaus first, and dispute anything that's wrong with the bureau showing it. Pay card balances down before the lender pulls credit rather than after. If something changes once the report is pulled, a rapid rescore can update it in days.
The credit score requirements guide shows what each middle score opens by program. Call AAA Capital Funding at 888-601-8344 and we'll pull your tri-merge and go over all three bureaus line by line with you.