Past Utilization: Who Cares?

[pdxuser]

Having just confirmed that FICO doesn't care about utilization history, I'm wondering who does, and why?

I assume a mortgage officer would think twice of an applicant with 100% utilization in their recent history. Might even an online credit application check those numbers? Not that I plan on maxing out anytime soon, I'm just putting out an extreme hypothetical.

My situation would likely be the opposite. What if I had 1% util every three months, with zero balance in between, and applied for new credit only when 1% util was reported (when my FICO would likely be highest)? Would anyone think, "this person won't make us any money," or, "this person is gaming, not using, the system?" Literally, what if my balances were 0, 0, 1%, 0, 0, 1%, 0, 0, 1%, and I only sought new credit in with 1% reporting? Would that look suspicious or spectacular?

[fishbjc]

Pulte only cared about the prior two years.

[pdxuser]

I'm not sure how the financing offered by a homebuilder differs from that of a conventional mortgage lender, but you're saying Pulte checked the utilization, not just payment history, for each of the previous 24 months? Presumably they were looking for low util, but I'm still wondering if my 0-0-1%-0-0-1% scheme would look odd.