Get Loan Rate Based on Your Credit Score

Consumers for the first time can see how their credit scores affect the interest rates they’re offered on mortgages and auto loans, thanks to an Internet tool unveiled Tuesday by leading credit-scoring company Fair, Isaac & Co.

Consumers who know their three-digit credit score can go to www.myfico.com to see what rates are being offered to people in their state with similar credit scores.

San Rafael-based Fair Isaac said it hoped the information would help consumers evaluate loan terms and avoid predatory lenders charging exorbitant rates.

Although several other Internet sites, including Bankrate.com, offer comparative interest rate information, none sorts that information by credit score.

“A consumer who is wondering if a particular loan offer is fair

Consumer advocates, however, said most consumers targeted by predatory lenders don’t have easy access to the Internet and don’t understand the importance of credit scores or how to determine what their score is.

“Just looking at the Web site, it’s not written for financially unsophisticated people,” said Consumer Action’s Guadalupe Aguilar, a consumer advocate who deals with predatory lending issues.

“I’m sure it serves a good purpose for a limited audience, but it would not serve the people who we might want it to serve.”

Credit scores are three-digit numbers, typically ranging from 500 to 850, that are used by lenders to determine credit-worthiness and set interest rates paid by borrowers.

Consumers sometimes can learn their credit scores from a lender after they have applied for a loan. People also can find out their scores by paying $12.95 to the MyFico Web site, a joint venture between Fair Isaac and credit bureau Equifax.

According to Fair Isaac’s Web site, lenders are offering someone with the best credit score--in the 720-to-850 range--an average interest rate of 6.556% for a 30-year mortgage in California.

Someone with a lower score, in the 620-to-674 range, would be offered the same mortgage at an 8.508% rate. Consumers with scores of 500 to 559 would face rates averaging 11.164%.

The site’s interest rate information is provided by Informa Research Services Inc., a Calabasas-based financial research firm that surveys lenders daily for interest rate information. Informa is a division of London-based Informa Group.