Wife file her own cards?

[Anonymous]

Hello,

My wife and I filed bankruptcy Chapter 7 in Feb 2015 and it became final in May 2015. Prior to that we had a short sale on our house. We are slowly trying to work our way back.

Since BK, I have applied for everything in my name and have been approved for Cap 1 VentureOne card ($20,000 CL) and Quicksilver ($7,000 CL). I also have a secure ISAA visa with $3,000 limit. She is AU on all accounts. I also have 2 auto loans in my name only. Unfortunately, I have been unsuccessful in further credit, and have too many recent inquiries, so I am laying low for the next year to allow them to fall off.

My wife has not applied for any credit since BK, but prior to that it was great. The only current entries on her report are 1 student loan, the AU accounts, and an old Dell computer account. Her numbers are 630-640 range and mine are 670-680.

My thought was to start ramping up her credit. Recently, she shows 2 prequalified offers for Quicksilver and Venure, as well as Discovery. The Discovery offer shows a specific APR, not a range, so I suspect it is legitimate. I was planning on having her apply for all 3 cards and get listed as AU.

What do you all think? Should we space the apps out? Will it help or hurt my credit? Thoughts???

[Anonymous]

If the Disco is showing a solid apr then it should be good to go.  My suggestion is to add cards to her profile slowly.  One card every 6 months is fast enough.  Credit is not a race is along marathon.  Take you time.  Disco is a great card and will treat you well if you do the same for it.   

[AverageJoesCredit]

Since shes prequaled on CapOne's site , seems those are usually good, and if on Discover's discovery channel shows a specific Apr, id say hit the 3 up at once then garden. Might as well pull off the bandaid in one pull so that the wound heals together judt my 3 cents

[medicgrrl]

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@AverageJoesCredit wrote:
Since shes prequaled on CapOne's site , seems those are usually good, and if on Discover's discovery channel shows a specific Apr, id say hit the 3 up at once then garden. Might as well pull off the bandaid in one pull so that the wound heals together judt my 3 cents

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+1

Then she can join you in the garden 

[Revelate]

My opinion only for your DW: open up 3 cards all at once right now and then she needs to sit on her hands just as you are doing now.

FICO is both lack of negative tradelines but also having positive tradelines, and under more modern algorithms your wife has not much.  If you wait on them, you're just prolonging the pain... spreading apps out doesn't apply here (or also in my opinion anywhere in the current market, that was so subprime crisis credit strategy).

The only constant in any FICO algorithm is time passes, and a spree of applications or even an outright denials is irrelevant compared to the BK that's already on her report.  Cap 1 and Discover both pickup, and if you need a baby secured card for the third do that too.  

Two big mistakes as I see it credit building wise:

1) People who have a significant credit event wait to re-establish tradelines: start the positive clock running ASAP.

2) People who spree a bunch of accounts, don't sit on their hands for a requisite amount of time.

You have the right strategy already for your own rebuild, get some accounts, then just hang out for a while building some history... do exactly the same for your wife as well, and that should be done right now for best results.

[Anonymous]

Love the responses here! Please keep chiming in. I'm seeing a consensus starting to develop!

[Anonymous]

Let me add to our story. We are getting paperwork together now for a house loan. Since we live in California and I am retired Air Force, we will be utilizing CalVet loan. The nice thing about it is they do their own approvals and do not use credit reports for approval. As long as we are 2 years out of bankruptcy and have established good credit moving forward, that's the only requirement. No money down, no closing costs, and a good interest rate as well.

Do you think the sudden apps by my wife will have a negative effect?

[medicgrrl]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Let me add to our story. We are getting paperwork together now for a house loan. Since we live in California and I am retired Air Force, we will be utilizing CalVet loan. The nice thing about it is they do their own approvals and do not use credit reports for approval. As long as we are 2 years out of bankruptcy and have established good credit moving forward, that's the only requirement. No money down, no closing costs, and a good interest rate as well.

Do you think the sudden apps by my wife will have a negative effect?

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Yes, if you are currently in the home buying process, do not open any additional credit.  If you are still 6 months away from applying for a mortgage, then now would be a good time.

[Anonymous]

If you're thinking of purchasing a home within the next few months I would not do any credit apps until after everything goes through and closing is done. If it's still a while away than I don't see the harm.

[jdxprs1]

I would get some kind of installment loan showing on her report before apping for the cards. One of those self lender loans or something.

Then her scores will be higher and you'd be more likely to get some decent starting limits.