Pull credit
Soft or hard pull based on borrower preference; tri-merge in Arive.
Overview
With the application reviewed and accurate, pull credit. The strategic decision — soft vs. hard, and when to push for hard — is covered in the Lead intake & qualifying conversation step. This page covers the mechanics: the pull itself, the cost handling, and what to review when the report comes back.
The pull
Credit is pulled directly inside Arive. Multiple credit vendors are allowed, but the company standard is Credco — most LOs pull through Credco via the Arive integration.
Scribe walkthrough pending — the credit pull screen, including where you select soft vs. hard.
Soft-to-hard is a fresh pull
If a borrower started with a soft pull and is now ready to move forward, there is no conversion or upgrade — you run a fresh hard pull, which generates an entirely new report. Remember the constraint from Step 1: AUS cannot run on soft pull credit. The hard pull is the gate to DU/LP and the pre-approval letter.
Who pays for the pull
Two options, LO's choice:
- LO pays upfront. You cover the pull cost yourself at the time of the pull.
- Charge the borrower. The borrower pays for the initial credit pull directly.
If you pay upfront, you can be reimbursed at closing — but only under one condition, covered below.
Reimbursement requires disclosure. If the LO pays for the credit pull and wants reimbursement at closing, the credit report fee MUST have been disclosed as a line-item fee on the initial loan disclosures that went to the borrower. No disclosure, no reimbursement — you eat the cost. When in doubt, make sure the credit report fee is on the fee sheet before disclosures go out.
When the pull fails: frozen credit
Occasionally a pull fails because the borrower has a security freeze on one or more bureaus. It's manageable and usually resolves same-day:
- Tell the borrower which bureau(s) are frozen — the failed pull will indicate it.
- The borrower unfreezes online with each frozen bureau (Experian, TransUnion, Equifax — each has its own site/app and takes a few minutes).
- Once they confirm the freeze is lifted, re-pull. Usually works the same day.
Worth asking during the qualifying call if the borrower has ever frozen their credit — many did during a data-breach scare and forgot. Catching it early saves the failed-pull round trip.
Reviewing the report — before AUS
Do a full tradeline review before running AUS. You're checking the report against the story the borrower told you and confirming the DTI inputs are real:
- Scores — in the range the borrower estimated? If dramatically lower, pause and diagnose before AUS.
- Tradelines and debts — every monthly obligation that will hit DTI: car loans, student loans, credit cards, other mortgages. Do the payments match what the borrower described?
- Payment history — late pays the borrower didn't mention? Recent delinquencies?
- Surprises — collections, charge-offs, judgments, or accounts the borrower didn't disclose. Anything unexpected gets a conversation with the borrower before you run AUS, not after.
The goal: when you run DU/LP in the next step, nothing in the findings should surprise you. If the report changed the picture — score lower than expected, debt load heavier, derogatory history — you may need to revisit program selection or pricing before AUS.
Report shelf life: 90 days
A credit report is good for 90 days. After that, it must be re-pulled. This matters most for pre-approved shoppers who take months to find a house — if the file drags past 90 days, budget for a fresh pull, and know that scores and tradelines can shift. A borrower who barely qualified on the first pull can fall out of qualification on the re-pull if they've taken on new debt (new truck, new credit card) while shopping. Coach pre-approved borrowers explicitly: no new debt while house hunting.
Rapid rescore
When a score improvement would change pricing or qualification — the borrower is a few points shy of the next pricing tier, or just below a program minimum — rapid rescore is part of our toolkit. Typical scenario: borrower pays down a credit card balance, and the rescore pushes the updated balance through the bureaus in days instead of waiting a full reporting cycle.
Rescores run through Credco. If you haven't run one before, loop in Bryce or Dean on strategy first — knowing which action will move the score (and by roughly how much) is the skill, and burning a rescore on the wrong tradeline wastes time and money.
Who to ask if you're stuck
Credco integration issues or pull errors in Arive: Bryce or Dean.
Rescore strategy: Bryce or Dean before initiating.
Frozen credit: the borrower has to fix it — you can't unfreeze on their behalf.