The answer to this question depends on your time frame for purchasing a home.

For example, if you want to get pre-approved for a home you are putting an offer on, your lender will want to ensure you are qualified and pull your credit to confirm your a) credit score and b) monthly liabilities.

If, however, you have a pretty good idea of what your credit score and monthly liabilities are, and you’re hoping to get pre-approved to shop the housing market for a few months, it might be best to hold off on credit inquiries until you are 60 – 90 days away from seriously buying your home.

This isn’t always the case though, especially if it has been a while since you last confirmed your credit score which is why we recommend staying up to date with your credit score and report at www.annualcreditreport.com

While it is true that multiple credit inquiries in a short period of time (usually 45 days) won’t impact your credit score more than one credit inquiry does, it is also true that credit pulls “expire” such that lenders will need to re-pull your credit to confirm nothing has materially changed since the last time they pulled it.

This repull can negatively impact your credit score if done outside of the allotted time frame, hence the reason for waiting to pull in some instances.

Credit reports are valid for up to 60 days (and often 90 days) with most mortgage lenders and a repull can negatively impact your credit score if done outside of the allotted time frame.

Credit inquiries can negatively impact your credit on average about 3 – 5 points, however, the higher your score, the less impact inquiries have on your score.

In any case, no lender should ever pull your credit without your express authorization.