Perhaps the most important thing that people do with their credit is buy a home. It is the pinnacle moment of many individual's financial lives. In order to facilitate this, mortgage lenders pull what is called a real estate enhanced tri-merge report. This is all three credit reports and scores. But, the scores in this case are specifically designed for the company that pulled them. In the case of a real estate loan, a late payment on a previous mortgage can cost many times more points than a comparable derogatory mark on a credit line of a different type. For example, a 60 day late payment to Visa last year might cost you 20 points, but a 60 day late payment on a second mortgage might cost you 60 points.

To differing degrees, automotive loan companies, credit card companies, and even student loan financiers operate under a similar system. The bottom line is, a late payment in a particular industry will affect you more in your future dealing with that industry than it will in general. 
Although this is helpful across the board from a knowledge standpoint, it can also be of use when prioritizing your debts in the event of a catastrophe. If you can only afford one payment per month, it is usually best to keep your mortgage current since that is, for most people, the largest and most important investment in their portfolios.