Which score counts
Mortgage lenders don't use the score in your banking app. They pull all three bureaus and typically use the middle score — and on a joint application, the lower middle score of the two borrowers. It's common for that number to differ from the one you've been watching.
What moves it fastest
Credit utilisation is the biggest lever you control in a short window. Paying balances down before your statement date can shift a score meaningfully within a cycle. Paying an old collection, by contrast, often does very little.
What to avoid while in process
Don't open new accounts, close old ones, finance furniture or a car, or let a balance run up between approval and closing. Lenders re-check credit before funding, and a new payment can change your ratios enough to matter.
Scores aren't the whole file
Reserves, job stability, down payment and the property itself all factor in. A borderline score with strong compensating factors often works. This is where being a broker helps — different lenders weigh the same file differently, so a file that's marginal at one can be straightforward at another.