Credit Improvement

How Mortgage Credit Scores Work

Why lenders use FICO 2/4/5, how the middle score is chosen, and what changes your number.

6 min readUpdated 2026Credit Improvement

Tri-merge and middle score

Mortgage lenders pull all three bureaus and use the middle of your three FICO scores. For joint applicants, they use the lower middle score.

What moves the number

Payment history and utilization drive the largest changes. New credit and hard inquiries have smaller, shorter-term impact.

Key takeaways

  • Middle score matters, not the highest.
  • Utilization is a fast lever.

Frequently asked questions

Related articles

Get Started

Ready to make your move?

Get pre-approved in minutes or ask our AI mortgage assistant anything — no pressure, no obligation.