Credit Inquiries. Do they really lower credit scores?

[Nick Sansivero]

I'm currently in the process of getting pre-approval for my first mortgage (thinking about an FHA 203k for a triplex owner-occupy), and I have a question about credit inquiries. If I want to shop around with 5-10 different banks/lenders and compare them to see what my best loan option is, won't this hurt my credit score significantly if they're all running credit checks? Is there a way to avoid this that I'm missing? I've read that one credit check can take up to 5 points off your credit score. I'd love to hear how true this is from people's experiences. Thanks!

[Jonathon Weber]

There's no way around it. You will get a score drop. But they are usually off the report within 2 years.   You are better off getting a copy of your report and take your banking statements and paycheck stubs to the bank and ask them what you could qualify for before going down the path of them doing things formally on their own side.