A score is one input. Readiness is the whole file.
"My Experian score is 720 — I'm approved, right?"
Monitoring your credit file is genuinely useful, and catching an error before a lender sees it can save you a pricing tier.
But mortgages are not underwritten on a score alone, and the score shown in most consumer apps isn't the version mortgage lenders pull.
ReadinessIQ evaluates the four things underwriting actually weighs together: credit, capacity, capital, and collateral.
| Capability | ReadinessIQ | Experian |
|---|---|---|
| Shows your credit file and score | No | Yes |
| Uses the mortgage-specific score model | modeled | usually no |
| Measures debt-to-income ratio | Yes | No |
| Checks reserves and asset seasoning | Yes | No |
| Scores FHA / VA / USDA / Conventional separately | Yes | No |
| Tells you the exact fixes to qualify | Yes | Partial |
| Shareable Passport for lenders & agents | Yes | No |
| Works if you're self-employed / 1099 | Yes | Partial |
| Free | Yes | Yes |
Comparison based on publicly available product information and typical U.S. mortgage workflows as of July 2026. Features and processes may change over time.
The tool you should trust depends on the question you're actually asking.
"What does your credit file say today?"
"How do I become the strongest buyer possible?"
Both tools do something valuable. They just answer different questions at different stages of the journey.
Excellent for spotting errors, tracking balances, and freezing your file against fraud.
Built for the stage before an application — where most buyers have the most questions and the fewest tools.
Readiness is its own stage — and it belongs at the start.
Consumer apps typically show a VantageScore or a base FICO. Mortgage lenders pull older FICO versions from all three bureaus and use the middle score — of two borrowers, generally the lower middle score. It commonly lands below the number in your app.
Balance changes usually report on the card's statement cycle, so allow up to a full billing cycle. A rapid rescore through your lender can shorten that, but it requires documentation of the payoff.
No. ReadinessIQ does not pull credit — no soft inquiry, no hard inquiry. Your score is calculated against published underwriting rules using the information you provide.
No. A readiness score measures how strong your file is against guidelines. A formal approval comes only from a licensed lender after documents are verified and credit is pulled.
Know where you stand before filling out another application.
Understand your options before your phone starts ringing.
Improve your readiness before a lender ever reviews your file.