# Can one person have different credit ratings? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 4, 2004, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-person-have-different-credit-ratings/243501 "2004-05-04T18:17:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2004, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-person-have-different-credit-ratings/243501/21 "2004-05-06T21:05:23Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > I guess I meant that their formulas produce more or less the same or similar results, given the same data. It is the same formula sold under three different service marks. The result should be the same. But they virtually never have the same data. > [@](#): > > I imagine that my data’s always the same month after month. Over time your data at each CRA may stay the same, but each CRA will still have different data, and therefore yield a different score. > [@](#): > > Just curious – I wonder what a second mortage (I mean a first mortgage on a second house) will do to me? Still haven’t sold the first house. I predict that the scores will stay the same. Revolving credit affects your score, but mortgages generally don’t. Late payments OTOH . . . If you have more questions, feel free to e-mail me. I’d be curious to find out if my prediction is correct. BTW. Here is a link to a nifty [FICO score estimator](http://www.bankrate.com/brm/fico/calc.asp). You can punch in your situation before and after a second and get a feel for how your score will look. Hope this helps. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2004, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-person-have-different-credit-ratings/243501/22 "2004-05-06T21:22:31Z")
> [@Gfactor](#): > > BTW. Here is a link to a nifty [FICO score estimator](http://www.bankrate.com/brm/fico/calc.asp). You can punch in your situation before and after a second and get a feel for how your score will look. > Hope this helps. Wow! It got my score perfectly correct. It didn’t let me enter multiple mortgages, though. I guess that’s pretty much a sign that it doesn’t matter given the history. So… I guess the only bad part of my credit situation will be the debt-to-income ratio until the first house sells. Anyone in the Detroit area suburbs interested? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2004, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-person-have-different-credit-ratings/243501/23 "2004-05-06T21:35:53Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > Wow! It got my score perfectly correct. > > It didn’t let me enter multiple mortgages, though. I guess that’s pretty much a sign that it doesn’t matter given the history. Yeah. Notice the questions. It _does_ ask when you got your last loan, and if you have any lates, etc. It doesn’t ask how much you owe total. And it doesn’t ask how many mortgages you have. Because it doesn’t matter. Because the CRA’s don’t know your income, the FICO score can’t incorporate that. So DTI must be calculated by the lender. FICO mostly looks at whether you are delinquent and whether you are maxed out on your revolving credit. > [@](#): > > So… I guess the only bad part of my credit situation will be the debt-to-income ratio until the first house sells. Anyone in the Detroit area suburbs interested? 🙂 Yeah. Depending on your income, it would probably be difficult to finance a third house or a luxury car right now. I’m not looking for a property in the Detroit area suburbs, but I can hook you up with financing if you don’t already have a mortgage lender. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2004, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-person-have-different-credit-ratings/243501/24 "2004-05-06T22:25:47Z")
> [@Gfactor](#): > > I’m not looking for a property in the Detroit area suburbs, but I can hook you up with financing if you don’t already have a mortgage lender. 🙂 Hey! You’re in West Bloomfield! Thanks for the offer – I already got a lender out in Novi! Should be closing in two to three weeks. (Then it’ll be rice and beans for a little while – well worth it even if we’re poor for a while.) ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2004, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-person-have-different-credit-ratings/243501/25 "2004-05-07T12:34:29Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > Thanks for the offer – I already got a lender out in Novi! Should be closing in two to three weeks. (Then it’ll be rice and beans for a little while – well worth it even if we’re poor for a while.) Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2004, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-person-have-different-credit-ratings/243501/26 "2004-05-07T13:07:35Z")
[slight hijack] This [little list](http://www.go-uag.com/services/31_facts.html) is an excellent summary of little known facts about FICO scores. Point 14, however, is not entirely correct. After this list was written, FICO changed the model. It is no longer true that > [@](#): > > Debt management companies such as Consumer Credit Counseling reported on your file may significantly lower your credit score. But remainder of number 14 is true. [/slight hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-person-have-different-credit-ratings/243501/27 "2004-05-18T13:03:30Z")
Another example from a real report with a huge variance in scores: 428 519 421 Equifax report lacked two out of three judgments and several collection accounts. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-person-have-different-credit-ratings/243501.md?page=1)