Is this broker scamming us?

[Anonymous]

Hello, we are trying to get a house loan and our credit scores are 587, 598, 608.  We were told by everyone to get a $300 credit card and spend $60.00 a month on it as well as pay it off right away.

This morning we got a call back from a broker and he told us (knowing we had just got that credit card) to get a credit card from first premier bank and then call him, and supposedly this card will do wonders with your credit, but everything we looked up on this bank said scam.. what do you guys think? Is this legit? Should we do this? Or drop this broker all together?

Thank you in advance for any and all replies.

[Anonymous]

First Premier bank is an actual bank. But, believe you me, you don't want to have one of their cards. Their terms are awful.

It is a credit rebuilder card and all, but even when I needed to build my credit so badly, I didn't go for it. I went to my bank an opened a Secured Card instead. Of course, this is only my opinion.

[-RED]

[Woolfman]

I have to agree. Dont go with the first premier . If that is your only choice your better off getting a secured card or two.  Your broker is trying to get your scores up and then after all the apps you get to explain to the mortgage folks why you applied for the cards right before you got the house (atleast i did ) hehe

[Wolf3]

First Premiere is worse than awful.    No ones credit is that bad!   

What credit card did you just get.    How many do you each have?

If you have no credit cards, Having One will improve your score,   Two will be a little better than one. 

I would be suspicious of this broker.  

[waqaszm1]

your broker is not trying to scam you - he is trying to get your scores up as fast as possible ! another way of doing that would be by paying down as much of your current balances as possible - if you need to get a card, i would advise you to apply for credit one bank, rather than first premier - first premier is a crappy bank in my opinion !

credit one will offer you an unsecured card -

another option would be to try to pre-qualify on orchard bank's website to see if you can get an unsecured card, the prequalification is a soft inquiry which will not show to your mortgage lender unless you actually apply for the card - if they dont offer you an unsecured card, they will offer you a secured card - and secured card is much, much better than any on the market .... good luck !

[Lel]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello, we are trying to get a house loan and our credit scores are 587, 598, 608.  We were told by everyone to get a $300 credit card and spend $60.00 a month on it as well as pay it off right away.

This morning we got a call back from a broker and he told us (knowing we had just got that credit card) to get a credit card from first premier bank and then call him, and supposedly this card will do wonders with your credit, but everything we looked up on this bank said scam.. what do you guys think? Is this legit? Should we do this? Or drop this broker all together?

Thank you in advance for any and all replies.

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I suggest that you stop applying for new credit cards and figure out why your credit scores are in the 500s.  Applying for and receiving new credit cards will not necessarily increase your score - in fact, many people experience drops in their scores, because the inquiries, the new accounts, and decreased average age of accounts tend to have negative effects on scores.  Furthermore, underwriters actually frown on new credit accounts being opened shortly before a mortgage application.  Keep in mind that the loan officers sometimes give very poor credit score advice, and they are not the ones who make the final decision about whether you get approved for a mortgage or not.

If you have no credit cards whatsoever, then adding a card will improve your mix of credit, which is a positive for FICO scoring.  If you already have credit cards, then adding a couple more may not have the effect that you hope.

[Uborrow-Upay]

Hi, Karrade!  Welcome to the forum!

First off, is this a real estate broker, or a mortgage broker that's giving you this advice?

And did this broker do any sort of financial prequalification worksheet with you, reviewing your income, current obligations, cash assets, debt to income ratios, etc.?  Did the broker come up with a price range of homes you could qualify for (if scores were adequate)?    Or was this all based off of just a pull of your credit reports?

I'll hold off on any comments for now.

[Jazzzy]

Hi, and welcome.

You've already gotten some advice. I will just add this to the mix...don't break your necks trying to beat the tax credit deadline. Take some time and work on your scores by reading these forums and tackling the negatives on your reports. Don't go out and pay for high-fee cards at this point. Your mortgage application is very challenged as it is....don't add high-fee cards to the mix.

As to the tax credit? If it is not renewed, house prices will drop. You may not get an immediate $8k back from Uncle Sam, but you will likely save more than that on the price of any house you are looking at. You will be far better off in the end.

[Anonymous]

To: Lel

Sorry i Should have added more information, neither of us have ever had or wanted a credit card, the $300 one was the first one ever and we are only using it to get a house loan, so your saying adding another card will hurt us? including the first premier?

To: Uborrow-Upay

Thanks, and he did review our income, obligations, and a lot of other things we already know how much we can get for a house as long as we can get the middle score from 598 to 620 we can get the house

To: ALL

At this point it doesn't matter to us what we have to do to get a house, we have been doing everything they have been telling us to do for 3 years now and it seems like we are getting nowhere here is a run down of credit report.

Credit Card (Opened March 2010) (For Credit Only - Suggested by Broker)

Student Loan (Opened Mid 2005) (Forbearance for 3 months, Last 2+ years on time)

Vehicle Loan (Opened April '09 - Closed April '10) (For Credit Only - Suggested by Broker)

Also there are 2 entries with different account numbers for the same hospital bill which was payed and is on there as $0 balance