The credit score calculator uses a similar method to that used by the banks and Lenders Mortgage Insurers to assess loans.

Whilst all lenders view risk differently, you’ll find that this credit score calculator is an excellent guide that can help you understand why a bank may decline your loan.

Instructions

If more than one person is applying for a home loan and you both have different answers to one of the questions, please enter the “worst” option.

Note: In regards to the ‘recent credit enquiries’ question, this includes all finance types including mobile phones, electricity accounts, credit cards, store cards, interest free consumer finance (GE / Harvey Norman etc), home loans and personal loans.

What to do if your credit score is low?

Here’s what to do if your credit score is low:

• After using the credit score calculator, you can fill in your details and they’ll then be sent to one of our mortgage brokers for assessment.
• If you don’t plan to take out a home loan at the moment then please leave a Disqus comment on the page.
• If you outline your situation in the question, we’ll give you a more personalised answer.

Enquiries affect credit score

An enquiry is a record on your credit file that details any loans or credit you have applied for. It includes the amount, which lender that you applied with and the date of the application. Each enquiry listing doesn’t mention if the loan was approved or not or if you proceeded with the application.

It’s quite common for people to get multiple credit enquiries from simply calling several banks and asking them what their borrowing capacity is.

The branch staff often don’t know or care about the effect of enquiries on your credit score, so they simply lodge an application so that they can work out your borrowing capacity. The end result is that most other banks will not lend to you because you have a busy credit file.

Did you know that as few as one or two enquiries on your credit file in the last six months is enough to make you fail the credit score of several banks?

You should only apply with the lender that you actually intend to get a loan with! Don’t put in multiple applications in the hope of getting an approval; this will do more harm than good.

What if you have multiple enquiries?

The good news is that some lenders can still help if you have multiple enquiries on your credit file.

On the flip side, you’ll have to provide a reasonable explanation as well as cheque account statements to prove which loans proceeded and which didn’t.

Does every lender credit score?

Although most of the major banks and lenders mortgage insurers use credit scoring to assess loan applications, some lenders still use manual credit assessment. This doesn’t mean they can or will approve every loan, but they can use common sense to approve loans that should be approved.

In addition to this, each lender has their own credit scoring system, so each will have a slightly different result. Some lenders don’t consider a high number of credit enquiries to be a high risk, while others will decline your loan outright simply based on the length of time in your current job.

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Speak with our mortgage brokers!

The secret to getting approved is finding a lender that either doesn’t credit score or has a scoring system that can accept your situation. Our mortgage brokers are credit scoring specialists. Please complete our free assessment form or contact us on 1300 889 743 and we can help you to get approved for your mortgage!