"You can't handle the truth," a major credit scoring system developer once insisted to consumers who demanded disclosures about credit scoring -- a statistical evaluation of your creditworthiness.

The old saw was that consumers were too ill-equipped to understand the inner workings of credit scoring unless they were applying for credit and had a mortgage broker, real estate agent or other knowledgeable professional holding their hand.

That's all changed. Along with free access to your credit scores you can buy more information designed to help you get closer to realizing the American Dream.

The same company that refused the information is offering growing volumes of insider dope to help more consumers increase their chances of getting approved for credit, especially home loans, but sometimes it will cost you.

The latest service from San Rafael, CA-based Fair, Isaac, the largest provider of a system (FICO) used to generate credit scores, is "FICO® Saver For Homebuyers," which it claims is the nation's first online consumer service offering insider lender information and expert coaching about the mortgage approval and rejection process.

And the new service may be worth the 50 bucks consumers have to shell out to get it -- if they don't already have a savvy mortgage or real estate broker who offers the same information for free.

"I think it's probably worth it. It may possibly arm the consumers with some information to help them make sure their Realtor and mortgage broker are really working in their interests. The information may be available in other places, but there is value in being able to find everything in one place instead of having to search for it," said Bruce Foote, a housing analyst with the Library of Congress, the research arm of the U.S. Congress.

Once protective of credit scoring information, Fair, Isaac says laws have opened access to the scores and it wants to make sure consumers get correct credit score information. To that end it offers discounted educational services to realty industry groups and others so members of those groups can be better equipped to inform their clients about credit scores.

It also offers the credit industry and consumers credit scoring information for free and for a fee including personal credit scores, credit reports, key lending ratios, real-time interest rates and home-specific real estate information, how credit scores affect a borrower's interest rate and more.

The FICO score is used to make decisions about 75 percent of all mortgages in the U.S. and 40 of the nation's 50 largest financial institutions rely on the FICO score to help them determine an individual's credit risk.

Fair, Isaac's new $50 online service offers perpetual access to "Andy," a virtual mortgage coach who advises customers by stepping through the same loan preparation process used by lenders.

Within minutes after paying the price consumers can learn how lenders will rate their application based on personal information and FICO scores, the amount of loan and interest rate for which they qualify, advice for improving their credit health, tips to help them qualify for better interest rates, profiles (school ratings, crime rates, proximity to undesirable sites, etc.) of up to three homes picked by the customer.

"I will probably sign up to see what the service offers because (1) I'm always open for new ideas and I might even learn something; (2) I need to satisfy myself that they're offering what I consider the correct perspective, and I would be able to offer counter perspectives where necessary; and (3) I would protect myself (and my credibility) from being "blindsided" by a customer who went to the site and came away with some information that made the customer seem more informed than the me," said Foote.

FICO Saver is indeed designed to give consumers a head start negotiating a loan with lenders and many experts say $50 is a small price to pay for such information.

"FICO Saver For Homebuyers helps prospective borrowers understand the complexities of mortgages and the loan application process. Armed with this valuable information, borrowers are more capable of selecting THE loan that best meets their needs," says Ray Brown, co-author of the best selling "Dummies" guides.

But could a borrower get the same information for free from a lender, broker or other savvy real estate professional?

Probably.

"It seems to me (as a mortgage broker) that the services they are providing are similar to what I do," said Mike Donohoe, broker-owner of Silver Creek Financial in San Jose, CA.

"Our company pulls a full credit report (at no charge to the borrower) and evaluates their financial capacity to either buy or refinance. In counseling the borrower, we answer questions they may have or help demystify the process for them. Our compensation comes, of course, when we arrange a loan for them. If they close the loan we are paid; if we don't close it we aren't paid. The consumer will utlimately decide if the $50 is worth it," said Donohoe, who is also president of the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors in San Jose, one of California's largest associations.

Others say even if the paid information is an adjunct to information already provided for free or otherwise, you can never have enough information when embarking on what's likely the most expensive transaction you'll ever complete.

"Mortgage brokers spend a lot of time educating potential borrowers. Fair Isaac's FICO Saver For Homebuyers will certainly shorten that education curve and better prepare potential borrowers for the home buying process," said Ginny Ferguson, vice president of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers.

Published: June 20, 2003

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Broderick Perkins parlayed a career in old-school journalism into a contemporary digital news service that really hits home. The award-winning consumer journalist, originally from Wilmington, DE, is founder, publisher and executive editor of the bootstrap DeadlineNews Group, a Silicon Valley-based editorial content and consulting service specializing in residential real estate, consumer news and related editorial consulting services. The DeadlineNews Group includes the website, DeadlineNews.com, offering real estate editorial content and consulting services, and its back shop, the Deadline Newsroom, an open house on news that really hits home. Perkins obtained his formal journalism education from University of Delaware and a journalism boot camp, the Institute of Journalism Education at the University of California-Berkeley. He went on to 20 years of service as a daily newspaper journalist at the Wilmington, DE News Journal and San Jose, CA Mercury News. Perkins covered housing on the San Jose Mercury News reporting team which earned a General News Reporting Pulitzer Prize in 1989 for coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake. He has also produced real estate, consumer and small business content for the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, RealtyTimes.com, Nolo.com, Better Homes and Gardens, the National Association of Realtors, Homestore/Move and Intuit/Quicken among more than three dozen publications. In addition to managing the DeadlineNews Group, Perkins most recently served as chief editorial consultant for Nolo's Essential Guide To Buying Your First Home, Nolo, and writes real estate television scripts for RealtyTimes.com.