You have more protection than most people realize: the scoring models group multiple mortgage inquiries inside a shopping window into a single inquiry. The window itself deserves a closer look. The grouping is a feature of the FICO and VantageScore models, and it depends on the version. Newer FICO versions use a 45-day window, while the older FICO models most mortgage lenders still pull (FICO 2, 4, and 5) group inquiries over 14 days. Keep your rate shopping inside about two weeks and every version scores it as one pull. The real risk is spreading pulls over months, since inquiries scattered across a long stretch stop being grouped at all. The number of lenders inside the window barely matters. You also need fewer hard pulls than you think: - For a ballpark, give a lender your self-reported scores and situation and get a pre-qualification estimate with no pull at all. A soft pull has a real time and place. - When you are ready for real numbers, go to full pre-approval (and the hard pull) with only the one or two lenders you would actually trust to close. If you are buying within about 90 days, start with the hard pull and get the real answer. - If you already have a recent hard pull, many lenders can price from an official consumer copy of those scores or run a soft multi-bureau pull that still supports an automated approval. Two or three quotes is plenty to read pricing. One caution: do not choose on the lowest number a voice on the phone throws out. Some originators quote a rate they cannot deliver and change terms later, and the rate that counts is the one on a written Loan Estimate. For a daily market baseline while you shop, use the Mortgage News Daily rate table, right here on our site at /mnd-rates.