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Hard Inquiry vs. CLI Odds vs. Future Mortgage

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Booma
Established Member

Hard Inquiry vs. CLI Odds vs. Future Mortgage

I am trying to decide whether a CLI request on my Chase Slate is prudent. I currently have about 60% util on the card, but 0-15% on other credit lines (15 mo no interest promo). My EQ score is a little over 720 at the moment. I'm looking to apply for a VA mortgage in about 3 months and while I can pay off the card balance to lower my util, it would be nice to keep some of the cash for closing.

 

I do not have any inquiries from this year and have only one or two on my reports max. Is it worth the inquiry to possibly increase my CL and thus lower my util? I opened the Slate card less than a year ago and the limit is $6000. I have several other lines in the $6000 range, but none higher than that. My main concern is any negative impact on future mortgage apps. I don't need and won't use the additional credit, but I would love to lower my utility as that should more than offset the impact of the hard pull.

Message 1 of 4
3 REPLIES 3
Revelate
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Hard Inquiry vs. CLI Odds vs. Future Mortgage

Not in my opinion.

 

Show a bureaucrat what they're looking to see, and it doesn't sound like it's hurting you badly, and while I don't know VA loans at all I don't think they have the same wide range of tiering that conventional mortgages do.  I'd ask what score you're seeing that 720 on, but if your mortgage scores are similar, then I'd just hold tight if you can clear the DTI hurdle with that debt showing.




        
Message 2 of 4
Booma
Established Member

Re: Hard Inquiry vs. CLI Odds vs. Future Mortgage

My DTI will be comfortably under 30% even if I acquire a lot more debt. I just have the standard OCD that's in the water around here about maximizing scores. Thank you for your input. The score is EQ 08, but my previous EQ 04 scores were within 1 point and little has changed. The last TU score I pulled was about 50 points higher than my EQ, but that has been over six months ago so I don't know that the trend is still there. The trend with my reports usually has EQ as the lowest, which is why I monitor it the most.

Message 3 of 4
takeshi74
Senior Contributor

Re: Hard Inquiry vs. CLI Odds vs. Future Mortgage


@Booma wrote:

I'm looking to apply for a VA mortgage in about 3 months


General advice is no inquiries or new credit 6 months to a year prior for mortgages so most will recommend against the CLI.

Message 4 of 4
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