 TITLE: How Many Hard Credit Inquiries Is Too Many? CONTENT: How Do Hard Inquiries Affect Rate Shopping?\n-------------------------------------------\nFrom mortgages to car loans, shopping around and comparing rates and terms offered by different lenders can lead to substantial savings over the long haul. According to Freddie Mac research, borrowers who get one additional mortgage rate quote save an average of $1,500 during their loan term. That number jumps to $3,000 for borrowers who get five quotes.\nReaching out to multiple lenders can pay off, but this may also result in several hard inquiries within a short period of time. The good news is that the majority of credit scoring models will lump multiple inquiries for one loan type together and treat them as a single inquiry if they're made within a short period of time. For FICO, this window is 45 days; VantageScore uses a 14-day period. END