{"id":47144,"date":"2026-09-15T15:33:03","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T15:33:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/?p=47144"},"modified":"2026-09-15T15:33:03","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T15:33:03","slug":"vantagescore-or-fico-for-homebuyers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/?p=47144","title":{"rendered":"VantageScore or FICO for homebuyers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> \n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"InlineImage-imageEmbed\" id=\"ArticleBody-InlineImage-108359975\" data-test=\"InlineImage\">\n<div class=\"InlineImage-wrapper\">\n<div>\n<p>Anchiy | E+ | Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>When it comes to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2026\/07\/11\/21st-century-road-to-housing-act-homebuyers-sellers.html\">homebuyers<\/a>&#8216; credit scores, changes are under way \u2014 and there could be more to come.<\/p>\n<p>After decades of allowing lenders to only factor a &#8220;classic&#8221; score from provider <span class=\"QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer\" data-test=\"QuoteInBody\" id=\"RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-2\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/quotes\/FICO\/\">FICO<\/a><span class=\"QuoteInBody-inlineButton\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer\" id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\" data-analytics-id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\"><button class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistButton\" aria-label=\"Add To Watchlist\" data-testid=\"dropdown-btn\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag\"\/><\/button><\/span><\/span><\/span> into their decision to extend a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2026\/03\/26\/fannie-mae-accepts-first-crypto-backed-mortgage-product.html\">loan<\/a>, <span class=\"QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer\" data-test=\"QuoteInBody\" id=\"RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-4\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/quotes\/FNMA\/\">Fannie Mae<\/a><span class=\"QuoteInBody-inlineButton\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer\" id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\" data-analytics-id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\"><button class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistButton\" aria-label=\"Add To Watchlist\" data-testid=\"dropdown-btn\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag\"\/><\/button><\/span><\/span><\/span> and <span class=\"QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer\" data-test=\"QuoteInBody\" id=\"RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-5\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/quotes\/FMCC\/\">Freddie Mac<\/a><span class=\"QuoteInBody-inlineButton\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer\" id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\" data-analytics-id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\"><button class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistButton\" aria-label=\"Add To Watchlist\" data-testid=\"dropdown-btn\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag\"\/><\/button><\/span><\/span><\/span> \u2014\u00a0government-sponsored enterprises that purchase mortgages and then bundle and sell them to investors \u2014 are now also permitting them <a href=\"https:\/\/singlefamily.fanniemae.com\/media\/48071\/display\" target=\"_blank\">to use VantageScore 4.0<\/a>, a score from credit bureaus <span class=\"QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer\" data-test=\"QuoteInBody\" id=\"RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-7\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/quotes\/EFX\/\">Equifax<\/a><span class=\"QuoteInBody-inlineButton\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer\" id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\" data-analytics-id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\"><button class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistButton\" aria-label=\"Add To Watchlist\" data-testid=\"dropdown-btn\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag\"\/><\/button><\/span><\/span><\/span>, <span class=\"QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer\" data-test=\"QuoteInBody\" id=\"RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-8\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/quotes\/EXPGY\/\">Experian<\/a><span class=\"QuoteInBody-inlineButton\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer\" id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\" data-analytics-id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\"><button class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistButton\" aria-label=\"Add To Watchlist\" data-testid=\"dropdown-btn\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag\"\/><\/button><\/span><\/span><\/span> and <span class=\"QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer\" data-test=\"QuoteInBody\" id=\"RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-9\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/quotes\/TRU\/\">TransUnion<\/a><span class=\"QuoteInBody-inlineButton\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer\" id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\" data-analytics-id=\"-WatchlistDropdown\"><button class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistButton\" aria-label=\"Add To Watchlist\" data-testid=\"dropdown-btn\"><span class=\"AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag\"\/><\/button><\/span><\/span><\/span>. The change applies to all mortgages sold to Fannie and Freddie.<\/p>\n<p>This is an expansion of a limited rollout, announced in April, which involved about 50 mortgage lenders, according to a Sept. 3 post on X from Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie and Freddie.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<div class=\"RelatedContent-relatedContent\" id=\"RegularArticle-RelatedContent-1\">\n<div class=\"RelatedContent-container\">\n<div class=\"RelatedContent-nonCollapsibleContent\">\n<h2 id=\"read-more-cnbc-personal-finance-coverage\" class=\"RelatedContent-header\">Read more CNBC personal finance coverage<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>For consumers, the significance is that VantageScore 4.0 uses data points that a classic FICO score doesn&#8217;t consider, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2026\/08\/27\/august-apartment-rents-turn-positive-for-the-first-time-in-four-years.html\">rent payments<\/a> \u2014 which could help some homebuyers qualify for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2026\/09\/10\/30-year-fixed-mortgage-rate-crosses.html\">mortgage<\/a> or get a better <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2026\/09\/10\/30-year-fixed-mortgage-rate-crosses.html\">interest rate<\/a> on their loan, experts say.<\/p>\n<p>About a third of mortgage denials for primary home purchases with conventional loans in 2025 were due to a lack of credit history, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zillow.com\/news\/zillow-is-helping-78000-renters-and-counting-turn-monthly-bills-into-credit-progress\/\" target=\"_blank\">Zillow&#8217;s analysis<\/a> of 2025 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data.<\/p>\n<p>Another newer credit score model, FICO 10T, which uses similar alternative data, is expected to be approved for use in mortgages by FHFA in the coming months. Separately, the Federal Housing Administration will begin insuring mortgages underwritten with VantageScore 4.0 and FICO 10T starting on Jan. 1.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"fhfa-may-reduce-credit-report-requirements\" class=\"ArticleBody-subtitle\"><a id=\"headline0\"\/>FHFA may reduce credit report requirements<\/h2>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>Additionally, Pulte said on his Sept. 3 X post that FHFA is &#8220;seriously considering&#8221; reducing the number of credit reports and scores needed for lenders to evaluate a potential homebuyer to two and, the following day in a separate X post, said the agency is &#8220;also studying&#8221; the use of a single credit report in the mortgage application process. The agency did not respond to CNBC&#8217;s request for more information.<\/p>\n<p>Currently, lenders are required to do a so-called tri-merge, which involves getting data about a mortgage applicant from all three large credit-reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Because there are differences in the credit scores that each firm provides, lenders typically use the middle score in their calculation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"Placeholder-ArticleBody-Video-108262108\">\n<div role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" id=\"Placeholder-ArticleBody-Video-108262108\" class=\"PlaceHolder-wrapper\" data-vilynx-id=\"7000403030\" data-test=\"VideoPlaceHolder\">\n<div class=\"InlineVideo-videoEmbed\" id=\"InlineVideo-0\" data-test=\"InlineVideo\">\n<div class=\"InlineVideo-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"InlineVideo-inlineThumbnailContainer\"><span class=\"InlineVideo-videoButton\"\/><span\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>While a bi-merge, as it&#8217;s called, potentially could reduce the cost of pulling credit reports \u2014 which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2026\/02\/22\/cost-of-credit-reports-for-mortgages-center-of-debate-what-to-know-.html\">has risen sharply in the past several years<\/a> \u2014 it would create a new problem, said John Ulzheimer, a credit expert and president of The Ulzheimer Group in Atlanta.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Not all credit reports are the same, and [the lender] may miss something by not pulling all three,&#8221; Ulzheimer said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"how-rent-utility-data-may-help-some-borrowers\" class=\"ArticleBody-subtitle\"><a id=\"headline1\"\/>How rent, utility data may help some borrowers<\/h2>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>VantageScore is a joint venture owned by Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. It was created in 2006 as a competitor to the FICO score, which has been around <a href=\"https:\/\/www.myfico.com\/credit-education\/blog\/history-of-the-fico-score\" target=\"_blank\">since 1989<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Both brands use similar data to compute your number \u2014 including outstanding debt, payment history and other financial tidbits that help predict whether you&#8217;ll repay what you borrow. The most familiar versions of both VantageScore and FICO result in a score that falls on a scale of 300 to 850;\u00a0the higher, the better.<\/p>\n<p>VantageScore 4.0 differs from the classic FICO score in several ways, including by considering rent and utility payments when evaluating a person&#8217;s creditworthiness. The idea is that some consumers may consistently pay those bills on time, and their score could benefit from that \u2014 especially if they don&#8217;t have much else on their credit report, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/credit-cards\/\">credit cards<\/a> or an installment loan, for instance.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, if you&#8217;re late or behind on your rent, your VantageScore 4.0 could suffer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote data-test=\"Pullquote\">\n<div class=\"Pullquote-pullquote\" style=\"border-top-color:#002f6c\">\n<div>\n<p>Not all credit reports are the same, and [the lender] may miss something by not pulling all three.<\/p>\n<div class=\"Pullquote-sourceWrapper\">\n<p>John Ulzheimer<\/p>\n<p>President of The Ulzheimer Group<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>Nevertheless, for homebuyers with thin credit histories, having an alternative credit score used could mean a greater chance of getting more favorable mortgage terms.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I do think it&#8217;s going to be a benefit to buyers in terms of not just being able to be qualified, but also what interest rate bucket they fall in,&#8221; said Stephen Rinaldi, president and founder of the Rinaldi Group, a mortgage broker based near Philadelphia. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Sometimes the VantageScore is higher and sometimes lower [than FICO], but having two options as opposed to one option, there&#8217;s more likelihood of approval,&#8221; Rinaldi said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>While a potential homebuyer can ask their mortgage broker or lender to check their VantageScore 4.0 as well as their classic FICO score, it may not be easy for consumers to check those scores on their own ahead of time. <\/p>\n<p>FICO offers a subscription service for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.myfico.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">$29.95 or $39.95 per month<\/a>, both of which include classic FICO scores, as well as FICO 10T. VantageScore 4.0 is available for free if you have an account through Synchrony Bank, a retail credit card provider. Zillow&#8217;s rental application program, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zillow.com\/rent\/apply-for-rentals\/\" target=\"_blank\">which costs $35<\/a>, also offers access.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"most-rental-payments-dont-get-reported\" class=\"ArticleBody-subtitle\"><a id=\"headline2\"\/>Most rental payments don&#8217;t get reported<\/h2>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>Additionally, while VantageScore 4.0 considers rental history, most of that data doesn&#8217;t make its way to credit companies for use in any score.<\/p>\n<p>The share of consumers whose rent payments are reported to credit reporting agencies rose to 13% last year from 11% in 2024, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.transunion.com\/transunion-report-finds-more-consumers-likely-self-reporting-rent-payments-in-2025\/\" target=\"_blank\">a TransUnion report<\/a> that was based on a survey of 2,006 adults in March 2025.<\/p>\n<p>There are about <a href=\"https:\/\/fred.stlouisfed.org\/series\/ERNTOCCUSQ176N\" target=\"_blank\">46.8 million renter-occupied households<\/a> in the U.S., according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"Placeholder-ArticleBody-Video-108262110\">\n<div role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" id=\"Placeholder-ArticleBody-Video-108262110\" class=\"PlaceHolder-wrapper\" data-vilynx-id=\"7000403031\" data-test=\"VideoPlaceHolder\">\n<div class=\"InlineVideo-videoEmbed\" id=\"InlineVideo-0\" data-test=\"InlineVideo\">\n<div class=\"InlineVideo-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"InlineVideo-inlineThumbnailContainer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"InlineVideo-videoThumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/image.cnbcfm.com\/api\/v1\/image\/108262111-5ED3-REQ-AFFORDHOMES-020526.jpg?v=1770317980&amp;w=750&amp;h=422&amp;vtcrop=y\" alt=\"Can you afford to buy a home?\"\/><span class=\"InlineVideo-videoButton\"\/><span\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>Some property managers use software to feed data to one or more credit bureaus. Renters may also sign up for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2025\/11\/04\/rent-reporting-can-hurt-credit-reports-says-consumer-advocate.html\">rent-reporting service<\/a> that will pass the information along, Ulzheimer said. Those services may come with a monthly fee of about $10, although some large property managers may offer it for free to renters who want to participate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"trended-data-can-help-or-hurt-your-score\" class=\"ArticleBody-subtitle\"><a id=\"headline3\"\/>&#8216;Trended data&#8217; can help or hurt your score<\/h2>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>There&#8217;s another metric that is used in VantageScore 4.0 and generally is already available to the credit-reporting companies: so-called trended data.<\/p>\n<p>This is based on a person&#8217;s credit behavior over time \u2014 usually the last 24 months. For instance, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2026\/08\/27\/this-is-one-of-the-worst-credit-card-habits-41percent-of-cardholders-do-it.html\">credit card<\/a> company typically reports to the credit-reporting companies the balance, the minimum monthly payment required and the actual payments made over that stretch of time, Ulzheimer said.<\/p>\n<p>While trended data is already included in consumer credit reports, it has not been incorporated into the classic FICO score used in mortgages.<\/p>\n<p>This information is valuable to lenders, Ulzheimer said, in determining who is a &#8220;transactor&#8221; \u2014 a credit card user who routinely pays off their balance \u2014 and who is a &#8220;revolver&#8221; \u2014 someone who carries a balance from month to month, which can be a riskier borrower for a lender.<\/p>\n<p>For consumers, this means managing credit card debt over time will be important if they plan to apply for a mortgage, he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2026\/09\/15\/mortgage-credit-scores-vantagescore-fico-homebuyers.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Anchiy | E+ | Getty Images When it comes to homebuyers&#8216; credit scores, changes are under way \u2014&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":47145,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-investing","cs-entry","cs-video-wrap"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47144"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47144\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/47145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}