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So I'm currently not sure which I should do. I currently utilize 2 cards that I PIF every month...
One card is 2% cash back everything, this is my everyday card purchases, auto pay bills (that allow it), etc.
Second card is 2% gas/3% groceries so this is my gas and grocery card.
Card #1 usually sees around 2k in traffic a month
Card #2 usually around $1000. (I commute 130 miles/day)
My question is my loan is for a USDA loan and one of my conditions is strong reserves but I'm also being told to stop using my credit cards even though I PIF them becuase they will do a soft check before closing.
But I can show much stronger reserves this way by holding the funds in my savings right before closing, then paying back off the cards like I do every month.
Will they show updated balances when they check? Or will it be a standard soft check and I shouldn't worry since my balances always show less than 5%.
@Anonymous wrote:So I'm currently not sure which I should do. I currently utilize 2 cards that I PIF every month...
One card is 2% cash back everything, this is my everyday card purchases, auto pay bills (that allow it), etc.
Second card is 2% gas/3% groceries so this is my gas and grocery card.
Card #1 usually sees around 2k in traffic a month
Card #2 usually around $1000. (I commute 130 miles/day)
My question is my loan is for a USDA loan and one of my conditions is strong reserves but I'm also being told to stop using my credit cards even though I PIF them becuase they will do a soft check before closing.
But I can show much stronger reserves this way by holding the funds in my savings right before closing, then paying back off the cards like I do every month.
Will they show updated balances when they check? Or will it be a standard soft check and I shouldn't worry since my balances always show less than 5%.
Depends on the statement date of your credit cards.
I wouldn't do anything different than you normally do, if there's anything lenders hate besides default it's inexplicable changes in behavior.
Worst case just pay the statement ahead of time so it reports identically to what it did on the initial mortgage pull (well close, $36 vs $34 in revolving balances), that was how I did it though I wasn't worried... and I still ran my life through my credit cards personally. The big thing they're worried about is a change in score with heavy revolver use as that jeopardizes the loan's being able to be sold on the secondary market, so just make sure the reported balances are the same and go on with life.
@Anonymous wrote:
That's what I figured. But I just wanted to make sure their soft check during closing didn't cause any sort of mid cycle update for statements.
Won't unless you pay for a rapid rescore hah. It's not in their (the lenders) best interests to do that anyway for your situation, they will minimize cost so proceed with confidence.
Why not just keep using the credit cards and pay them off weekly? I always do this so when my statement cuts it is a very low number instead of the thousand I may put on it during the month. If you pay in full weekly they will have no clue how much you are spending on the cards and you will still get your cash back.