Credit Cards

[credit08]

It is always easier to go after the people that will pay Instead of trying to go after people who are never going to pay. Good Ol" american Capitolism @ work!!!!

[KingAdrock]

---

Creditaddict wrote:

I have had my interest rate go up on some of my business cards (not personal cards) after being a customer for over a year. Banks are changing there criteria saying they are preparing for more defaults.

Advanta took my one business card from 8.9 - 17.9!! Never a late, never over limit, nothing bad on credit reports, they said it was an internal risk assessment change.

---

Because raising everyone's interest rate will... decrease defaults? That's some pointy haired boss thinking.

[PittsburgPamela]

I was wondering where I might have read about lenders seeing it as potential negative and found these examples...

Why to cancel a card "One of the reasons people would want to close out credit cards is if they want to purchase a home," Taylor says. "To have a lot of available credit is not to your advantage."

Here's an example: If you have three credit cards with low or no balances, a mortgage lender considers that as "potential debt." If you have a lot of potential debt, a mortgage lender might not be willing to lend all the money you need because you could take out a mortgage and then run up your credit cards, endangering your ability to pay all your debts.

http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/news/news.cfm?NewsID=6452

http://www.columbuswired.net/Columns/DollarStretcher/CancellingCredit_090302.htm

[haulingthescoreup]

---

PittsburgPamela wrote:

I was wondering where I might have read about lenders seeing it as potential negative and found these examples...

Why to cancel a card "One of the reasons people would want to close out credit cards is if they want to purchase a home," Taylor says. "To have a lot of available credit is not to your advantage."

Here's an example: If you have three credit cards with low or no balances, a mortgage lender considers that as "potential debt." If you have a lot of potential debt, a mortgage lender might not be willing to lend all the money you need because you could take out a mortgage and then run up your credit cards, endangering your ability to pay all your debts.

http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/news/news.cfm?NewsID=6452

http://www.columbuswired.net/Columns/DollarStretcher/CancellingCredit_090302.htm

---

Yes, a mortgage is probably the one case where this would apply.

But I would never, never (never, never) cancel cards because they maybe might hurt me at mortgage time. I would wait until I was right down to the wire, and only if the lender demanded it. Even then, I would call my CCC's, explain the situation, and have them close the cards with the understanding that I would be calling back to re-open them as soon as the loan funded. This is not an uncommon tactic, but I would still do this through a supervisor, not the phone-answering front line people, and I would write down names too.

[badkarma56]

Bingo, Haulingthescoreup...I know people who have used your strategy to give lenders the slip! 

This whole "credit game" is shady business, sometimes you've got to be a little opaque with lenders... 

[ashabbir1]

ok guys I just closed on my 2nd house. I have first mortgage with bank of america and 2nd with

lenox financial and you guys know that I have enough credit cards that I cant count and

I have like 3 wallets. My utilization is just 3 percent so you can tell that how much balance

I have available on these credit cards. Bank of america and lenox financial both did not

say anything about the credit cards. So if someone telles you to close the credit cards to

get a mortgage then go somewhere else.

[wmarat]

In this situation I would be willing to close JCPenney and WalMart store card.

[haulingthescoreup]

---

ashabbir1 wrote:

ok guys I just closed on my 2nd house. I have first mortgage with bank of america and 2nd with lenox financial and you guys know that I have enough credit cards that I cant count and I have like 3 wallets. My utilization is just 3 percent so you can tell that how much balance I have available on these credit cards. Bank of america and lenox financial both did not say anything about the credit cards. So if someone telles you to close the credit cards to get a mortgage then go somewhere else.

---

Hi, stranger, congratulations on the new digs! I wish I could have been there watching as your lender pulled your credit reports and sat there, pondering.

Did they ever say anything like, "Umm, what's with all the cards?"

[ashabbir1]

lol hauling

It takes over 20 minutes every day to update my TC report . I have over 10 pages of

credit report

---

haulingthescoreup wrote:

---

ashabbir1 wrote:

ok guys I just closed on my 2nd house. I have first mortgage with bank of america and 2nd with lenox financial and you guys know that I have enough credit cards that I cant count and I have like 3 wallets. My utilization is just 3 percent so you can tell that how much balance I have available on these credit cards. Bank of america and lenox financial both did not say anything about the credit cards. So if someone telles you to close the credit cards to get a mortgage then go somewhere else.

---

Hi, stranger, congratulations on the new digs! I wish I could have been there watching as your lender pulled your credit reports and sat there, pondering.

Did they ever say anything like, "Umm, what's with all the cards?"

---

[haulingthescoreup]

---

ashabbir1 wrote:

lol hauling

It takes over 20 minutes every day to update my TC report . I have over 10 pages of credit report

---

Wow! A whole new angle on having lots of open accounts. And I was grumbling because it is now taking my TC almost 3 minutes. You will be proud of me --I now have 12 whole CC's!