Need Help - In Escrow and Need Credit Card - Score of 645

[Anonymous]

My husband passed away unexpectedly 4 years ago; I lost our house and my credit took a HUGE hit. I have worked so hard to raise my credit some and it's now at about 635-645 across all three bureaus.

I just qualified for a home loan and am in escrow, getting the keys next week.

The house needs a washer/dryer, a refrigerator, and I need a bed and living room furniture. Getting the house essentially drained my savings (for the down payment) and I would like to get a credit card to get these items. I applied to Lowes this a.m., but got a message that I would hear from them in 7-10 days, which I took as a decline. I would love to get a Sears card, but am not sure of my chances and want to limit inquiries.

Other option would be to get a higher CL (around $5k) visa or mastercard, but again, I'm leery of qpplying and getting turned down.

Does anyone know what my odds are getting a good credit limit at Sears, Home Depot, or on a higher CL visa/MC? Any help is very appreciated!

ETA: My lender said okay to apply for the card...all earnest money is in on the loan. He just asked me to hold off on making charges until keys in hand.

[Creditaddict]

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@Anonymous wrote:

My husband passed away unexpectedly 4 years ago; I lost our house and my credit took a HUGE hit. I have worked so hard to raise my credit some and it's now at about 635-635 across all three bureaus.

I just qualified for a home loan and am in escrow, getting the keys next week.

The house needs a washer/dryer, a refrigerator, and I need a bed and living room furniture. Getting the house essentially drained my savings (for the down payment) and I would like to get a credit card to get these items. I applied to Lowes this a.m., but got a message that I would hear from them in 7-10 days, which I took as a decline. I would love to get a Sears card, but am not sure of my chances and want to limit inquiries.

Other option would be to get a higher CL (around $5k) visa or mastercard, but again, I'm leery of qpplying and getting turned down.

Does anyone know what my odds are getting a good credit limit at Sears, Home Depot, or on a higher CL visa/MC? Any help is very appreciated!

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DO NOT APPLY ANYMORE until you have the keys! they might pull credit 1 more time before you sign docs next week.

Call backdoor lowes and double check it's denied vs verification 866-519-6441

[ojefferyo]

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@Anonymous wrote:

My husband passed away unexpectedly 4 years ago; I lost our house and my credit took a HUGE hit. I have worked so hard to raise my credit some and it's now at about 635-635 across all three bureaus.

I just qualified for a home loan and am in escrow, getting the keys next week.

The house needs a washer/dryer, a refrigerator, and I need a bed and living room furniture. Getting the house essentially drained my savings (for the down payment) and I would like to get a credit card to get these items. I applied to Lowes this a.m., but got a message that I would hear from them in 7-10 days, which I took as a decline. I would love to get a Sears card, but am not sure of my chances and want to limit inquiries.

Other option would be to get a higher CL (around $5k) visa or mastercard, but again, I'm leery of qpplying and getting turned down.

Does anyone know what my odds are getting a good credit limit at Sears, Home Depot, or on a higher CL visa/MC? Any help is very appreciated!

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I'm not sure who backs Sears but HD is backed by Citi. Your scores are a bit on the low side for Citi. Check Cap1 for prequal and see if anything comes up. 

[sccredit]

As CA said STOP STOP STOP.  At minimum they have a monitor on your credit report that will alert them of inquiries and new accounts.  Wait until escrow is closed and them do it.

[sccredit]

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@ojefferyo wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

My husband passed away unexpectedly 4 years ago; I lost our house and my credit took a HUGE hit. I have worked so hard to raise my credit some and it's now at about 635-635 across all three bureaus.

I just qualified for a home loan and am in escrow, getting the keys next week.

The house needs a washer/dryer, a refrigerator, and I need a bed and living room furniture. Getting the house essentially drained my savings (for the down payment) and I would like to get a credit card to get these items. I applied to Lowes this a.m., but got a message that I would hear from them in 7-10 days, which I took as a decline. I would love to get a Sears card, but am not sure of my chances and want to limit inquiries.

Other option would be to get a higher CL (around $5k) visa or mastercard, but again, I'm leery of qpplying and getting turned down.

Does anyone know what my odds are getting a good credit limit at Sears, Home Depot, or on a higher CL visa/MC? Any help is very appreciated!

---

I'm not sure who backs Sears but HD is backed by Citi. Your scores are a bit on the low side for Citi. Check Cap1 for prequal and see if anything comes up. 

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Sears is also Citi.

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry that you have had to deal with all of these difficult challenges. I'm sure it's been a struggle. I just worry about you digging yourself deeper into debt when you are telling us that at the moment you don't even have any funds or any cash to purchase a bed and that all of your cash is gone. Obtaining credit cards and charging a lot is really not the answer when finances are very seriously low. I just want to help you avoid digging into deeper trouble for yourself.

A 635 is a pretty low score, and I mention that just so you can be realistic. I'm sure you've done some really hard work to get to that point. I just worry about getting yourself into a house situation when you have zero cash and then wanting to get credit cards and charge them up a lot with major purchases. I don't want to see you derail the good work you've done thus far. I'd look more toward a second job, renting out a room in your new home to gain additional funds, or perhaps some family members would be willing to share some used items until you have the funds to purchase others. I just don't want to see you dig heavily into debt at a time when all of your cash is totally depleted starting out.

[Anonymous]

My lender said okay to get a credit card now but said to wait to spend on it until I have keys. Does that make sense?

[Creditaddict]

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@Anonymous wrote:

My lender said okay to get a credit card now but said to wait to spend on it until I have keys. Does that make sense?

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to be safe, i would keep it at this lowes app and wait for any further until next week... better safe then sorry!

[Imperfectfuture]

Your best bet with those scores is a local credit union. If your husband was retired military, then NFCU is good. Credit unions offer better interest rates. DO NOT GO APPING FOR BUNCH OF CARDS RIGHT NOW. Makes you look desperate, and lenders do not like that.

Welcome to home ownership. You do not want to stretch yourself too thin, so try to fix what you can actually afford, and hold off on the rest. Hand wash and laundromat can take over for few months until get washer, dryer. You can sleep on floor, people with new homes have sat on floors, until can afford to pay for furniture.

Your first immediate need is refrigerator. So get card for that, pay off. Then get washer (can hang dry), pay off. Then get dryer, then get bed, etc. Your scores will climb.

My sis moved to Arizona, and went through this for one year, with scores 770+. Good luck.

[Imperfectfuture]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I'm sorry that you have had to deal with all of these difficult challenges. I'm sure it's been a struggle. I just worry about you digging yourself deeper into debt when you are telling us that at the moment you don't even have any funds or cash to purchase a bed and that all of your cash is gone. Obtaining credit cards and charging a lot is really not the answer when finances are very seriously low. I just want to help you avoid digging into deeper trouble for yourself.

A 635 is a pretty low score, and I mention that just so you can be realistic. I'm sure you've done some really hard work to get to that point. I just worry about getting yourself into a house situation when you have zero cash and then wanting to get credit cards and charge them up a lot with major purchases. I don't want to see you derail the good work you've done thus far. I'd look more toward a second job, renting out a room in your new home to gain additional funds, or perhaps some family members would be willing to share some used items until you have the funds to purchase others. I just don't want to see you dig heavily into debt at a time when all of your cash is totally depleted starting out.

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These are good suggestions as well.