Wanting to prequalify for a mortgage and cant seem to get scores where they need to be

[Anonymous]

The loan officer can do this for you but there is a cost (per line I think).  The benefit is your lower utilization would be reflected sooner than if you waited for your credit card company to update the credit bureaus, which is probably about the time your statement closes.  So if you're on the edge and the lower utilization will likely get you to over the hump, then you can get there quicker.

[WannaHouse]

In MY personal opinion...I would get all the cards paid off before I invested in a rapid rescore. That will give you the BEST shot at maxing your scores. You can leave a balance on one card of about 9-10%, but that's it.

[Anonymous]

Okay, Sso I spoke with a loan officer today at another bank.  I didn't let her pull our credit because the cards that we have paid off to date are not going to show as of yet and we are not done paying off all of the cards.  But she told me that you have to pay per item, per trade line for a rapid rescore.  She also told me that most CC companies report the current balance on the statement date.  So, I am wondering:

Credit One PIF on 09/04/09 statement date 24th

Credit One PIF on 09/04/09 statement date 27th

HSBC PIF on 09/04/09 statement date 18th

Household Bank PIF on 09/30/09 statement date 10th

Capital One PIF on 09/30/09 statement date 7th

HSBC PIF on 09/30/09 statement date 8th

That just leaves my Orchard Bank Card PIF on 10/16/09 but statement date 5th, so it wont report PIF until November. 

Does anyone know what paying off all of these cards will do to our credit.  I know it will increase the scores, but is there any way to know by how much?  I only need a few points, but the more the better!!!

By the way, we had taken out a secured loan with a low interest rate to pay off these two loans that we had that carried a 54% interest rate.  When the new loan reported to our CR's, we lost about 10 pts. a piece.  How long does that take to recover and become a positive factor?  Why dont CRA's look at paying off a high interest debt with a low interest debt as smart credit usage? 

I am lost with this whole thing.  I have drove my husband insane with the "what-ifs" and am ready to pull my own hair out.  We live in a very small town where houses are very hard to find.  Especially when you are looking for a large house.  We finally found one that we like and might not get a chance to put in an offer if we dont get a prequal soon.  But I know I need to wait until mid October before we pull the CR's again.  Then to top it off, the more I think on the house that we found, the more concerned I get that we might not be making the right decision.  Amazing how you can walk into a car dealership and drive off with a car that day and really never dwell on it that much...but a house, there is one that will burn your thinking cap up!!!!

[WannaHouse]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Okay, Sso I spoke with a loan officer today at another bank.  I didn't let her pull our credit because the cards that we have paid off to date are not going to show as of yet and we are not done paying off all of the cards.  But she told me that you have to pay per item, per trade line for a rapid rescore.  She also told me that most CC companies report the current balance on the statement date.  So, I am wondering:

Credit One PIF on 09/04/09 statement date 24th

Credit One PIF on 09/04/09 statement date 27th

HSBC PIF on 09/04/09 statement date 18th

Household Bank PIF on 09/30/09 statement date 10th

Capital One PIF on 09/30/09 statement date 7th

HSBC PIF on 09/30/09 statement date 8th

That just leaves my Orchard Bank Card PIF on 10/16/09 but statement date 5th, so it wont report PIF until November. 

Does anyone know what paying off all of these cards will do to our credit.  I know it will increase the scores, but is there any way to know by how much?  I only need a few points, but the more the better!!!

By the way, we had taken out a secured loan with a low interest rate to pay off these two loans that we had that carried a 54% interest rate.  When the new loan reported to our CR's, we lost about 10 pts. a piece.  How long does that take to recover and become a positive factor?  Why dont CRA's look at paying off a high interest debt with a low interest debt as smart credit usage? 

I am lost with this whole thing.  I have drove my husband insane with the "what-ifs" and am ready to pull my own hair out.  We live in a very small town where houses are very hard to find.  Especially when you are looking for a large house.  We finally found one that we like and might not get a chance to put in an offer if we dont get a prequal soon.  But I know I need to wait until mid October before we pull the CR's again.  Then to top it off, the more I think on the house that we found, the more concerned I get that we might not be making the right decision.  Amazing how you can walk into a car dealership and drive off with a car that day and really never dwell on it that much...but a house, there is one that will burn your thinking cap up!!!!

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So...you should be able to pull new scores Oct. 10-15t. The last card may not make much impact anyway...but having all the others at 0 should give you a nice little boost. There is no way to guess how much tho.

Is the house you want brand new? If not, then you have a reason to have "what ifs" and even if it IS brand new! Maybe there is a flaw in the framing...or many other "what ifs"

I used to live in Colorado Springs. I am a bit familiar with Canon City, but not much. We almost bought in that area, and then ended up back in WI when Gateway closed in COS. (it sucks..we LOVED CO)

So..my point is sometimes you have to do alot of research, use the options you have to make sure the house is a wise choice, and then go for it!!

[Anonymous]

Kathy,

The house was built in 1999 and done by a reputable contractor in this area.  I think that structure and mechanicaly speaking, the house is fine.  But we currently have 2.75 bathrooms and this house only has 2 baths.  Not to mention, the current home has a huge master suite with a garden tub and all the trimmings, whereas the house we are looking at has just the standard full baths.  We like the lay out, but we would be downgrading in a lot of areas.  We currently are on 3 acres and the other is a small lot.  But the plus side to that is way less work.  Almost exact same sqft, but much smaller living room.  But if we were to buy the current home which will list around 180k, we would need to replace the windows and doors soon.  I also would need to do some remodeling to the third level which my contractor told me would be about 25k.  The other home needs no remodeling and the windows and doors are great.  So that is a huge plus.  But the bathroom thing I think is what kills me the most.  We really want to stay in the Florence area but there are even better homes at the same price in Canon City.  I struggle with the idea of moving to Canon because my girls really like their schools and they have friends here.  But they are only in the beginning years of school and I keep telling myself that they will adjust if we make that choice.  Like I said, pulling my hair out.  I want the most bang for my buck but at the same time, I want everyone to be happy (husband, kids, myself).  I just wish we could find the perfect house at the right price in Florence, and then the decision would be a lot easier.  Maybe something great will come on the market in the next 30 days.  If not, do I compromise.  Now there is the ultimate question...

[Anonymous]

To add to my stress of decision making, we have a cat that is very old and I am concerned about how well he will transition.  I know that making a decision based on a cat seems dumb, but he has been with us for a long time and our pets are like children to us. 

[WannaHouse]

The biggest thing you will read on here is to "follow your heart". If you all love it, great. If not, then I pray something will pop up soon that actually IS perfect!

Nothing dumb about being worried about your cat. We have a dog and 2 cats, and they are family as well. 

[Anonymous]

I think the "follow your heart" part is what scares me the most.  My heart says that everything about this house is right.  We took the kids with us when we went to look at it and talked with them afterwards.  We asked them what they thought about the current home versus the home we went and looked at and they all voted on the home that we went and looked at.  Which to be honest, was kinda shocking.  The girls have never really known any other home than this one.  We also talked with them about what buying a home like that one would mean in the way of sacrafice.  We told them that they would no longer be able to have a swimming pool.  They still wanted to move.  So for them, the decision is clear.  For my husband, the decision seems clear.  Why am I the only one second guessing myself?

[Irish123]

I live in Colorado too, Erie, to be exact.  We are trying to get a CHFA approval as well. I have completed all of the buyer education courses and have been working since February to bring my scores up. 

Back in FEB the HIGHEST score was 459, Now, my scores are:

EQ 610

TU 587

Experian FAKO 605.

I have done everything I could to get these scores up.  When I first started, the magic number was 580, now of course, it is 620.  We are trying to go CHFA because we qualify for their program based on income and their 580 requirement, but, having a hard time finding a lender to work with us to get the CHFA loan through because we aren't at the 620 yet.  I don't want to wait too much longer because of the first time buyer tax credit, but, we may not have a choice.

I would love to hear from you to know if you have success on getting a lender to work with you and you are able to secure the CHFA loan. PLEASE, keep us posted!

[Anonymous]

Irish,

On CHFA's website there is a list of lenders that work with CHFA loans.  You can check by area and go from there.  I have yet to have a lender tell me that the 580 is an issue.  So call around and check out all the different options.