When a bank looks at credit score to determine financing, does it affect my credit rating?

I am wanting to purchase a house, but I don't want to look into financing until I find something I like. I am afraid my credit score will be reduced if I start asking banks to review my credit.

Public Comments

1. Your credit rating would be untouched. Queries does nothing to credit ratings. So go ahead and talk to banks.
2. Yes, every inquiry dings you. I'm not sure why, but it does. I used to work with credit reports daily, and people with perfect credit had lower scores, soley because of numerous inquiries.
3. no, it won't hurt it at all... i think it is a myth.
4. Everytime they look at your report that is 2 points off the score. That is also consider a inquiry which stays on your credit report for 2 years. Too many inquiry can hurt your score and effect you for further credit...
5. A few inquiries a year doesn't hurt your score. It helps to know if or how you qualify before you look for a house. It's hard to buy a house without pre-approved. Say that you found one you like but then by the time you get approved it could be gone. Or if you're approved but not enough. You could be wasting time looking first.
6. It can, yes. Along with debts and all that, they also track how often you have someone look at your credit score.
7. Not really, when people shop for a vehicle or home all inquiries made in a 14-day period are lumped together and only count as one, they all show but your score only gets dinged once.
8. Yes, your credit rating is affected every time an inquiry is made into your credit file. When applying for loans, make sure that all inquiries into your credit history are done within one week. It'll all count as one inquiry. For example, if you want to check with 2 or 3 banks, do it all in one day, and all those inquiries count as one. The theory behind all this is that too many credit inquiries signal to creditors that the applicant may be desperate for credit. People that are desperate for credit tend to be bigger credit risks.