Applying With Multiple Lenders - Will It Lower My Score?

Reader Question: By applying for mortgage refinancing with multiple lenders, will this lower my credit score?

It should have little impact on your score, if any. The people who develop the credit scoring systems (such as Fair Isaac's FICO system) know that people will comparison shop for mortgage loans. And they know that this will lead to a number of inquiries within a short period of time. So they typically do not lower a score for somebody who is clearly just rate shopping. You might see a difference of a few points, if anything.

Speaking of the FICO scoring model, here's what their website had to say about it: "So if you find a loan within 30 days, the inquiries won't affect your score while you're rate shopping." -Source: www.myfico.com

I also recommend reading the Q&A session below, which is relevant to your question:

How Inquiries Affect Your Credit Score
This is a fairly in-depth look at the inquiry process. It explains the difference between voluntary and involuntary inquiries, how they impact your credit score, and more.

When researching this question, I did a Google search that produced a lot of helpful articles from trustworthy sources (such as the quote from the FICO website above). If you'd like to research this topic further do a Google search for the following phrase:
Do multiple credit inquiries from mortgage lenders hurt my credit score?

Does that answer your question? If not, just post a follow-up question the same way you did the first. Good luck in the new year!