Understanding Mortgage Credit Inquiries: What Really Happens When You Shop for a Loan

One of the most common questions we hear from clients is about how credit inquiries work when applying for a mortgage. The concern is understandable—no one wants their credit score damaged or their report flooded with unnecessary “hard pulls.”

Most lenders are locked into a single rate sheet with only one option. That forces borrowers to apply with multiple lenders, triggering multiple credit pulls, just to compare rates or secure a pre-approval. With Vantage Mortgage Brokers, one application opens access to dozens of lenders—without the hassle or unnecessary hits to your credit.

Here’s a recent question we received:

“I wanted to clarify how the credit inquiries work when you shop our file. I understand that for mortgage scoring, multiple inquiries within about a 45-day window are usually treated as one ‘event,’ but each lender still shows as a separate hard inquiry on the report itself. About 10 years ago, when I got an auto loan, the dealer submitted my info to a lot of lenders and I ended up with 17 separate hard inquiries showing. I don’t think my score dropped for each one, but seeing them all listed was frustrating and I want to avoid something like that if possible. When you take our profile to a few lenders for pre-approval:*

·         How many separate credit pulls will actually appear on our reports?

·         Do you control how many lenders it’s submitted to?

·         If we later re-shop rates before finalizing a mortgage, is that another round of pulls?

·         Are pre-approval letters always valid for 120 days, or can that vary?”

How We Handle Your Credit Report

Shopping Lenders Without Extra Inquiries
Behind the scenes, we shop wholesale lenders constantly. The difference is that this “shopping” is independent of your credit file. We use your one credit report to evaluate options—without triggering additional inquiries. That means your score isn’t impacted as we compare lenders, terms, and rates.

What Happens Once You’re In Contract

When you have an accepted offer on a home, that’s when we choose the best wholesale lender for your loan. At this point, we don’t need to re-pull credit. Instead, we “re-issue” the original report to the lender we’re submitting your file to. Most lenders accept the re-issued report as long as it hasn’t expired (typically valid for 120 days). In rare cases, if the report is outdated or requires updating, a new pull might be necessary—but even then, the impact is usually minimal.

Rate Shopping/Float Down Before Closing

When you have an accepted offer on a home, that’s when we choose the best wholesale lender for your loan. At this point, we don’t need to re-pull credit. Instead, we “re-issue” the original report to the lender we’re submitting your file to. Most lenders accept the re-issued report as long as it hasn’t expired (typically valid for 120 days). In rare cases, if the report is outdated or requires updating, a new pull might be necessary—but even then, the impact is usually minimal.

How Long Pre-Approval Letters Last

The Bottom Line

• You’ll only see one credit inquiry when we start your pre-approval.
• We control how many lenders see your file—shopping is done independently without additional pulls.
• Re-shopping/floating down rates doesn’t add inquiries.
• Pre-approvals typically last 120 days, and refreshing is simple if you need more time.

In short: working with Vantage Mortgage Brokers ensures your credit is protected while still giving you access to the most competitive rates across multiple lenders.