How long before inquiries hit your report after applying for credit?

[Anonymous]

Just wondering how long would it take for an inquiry to hit my report if I applied for credit say, the beginning of April?  The reason I ask is because I am trying to get that huge gain when my credit card balances report next month, so that I can get a pretty decent rate when I apply for and auto loan,  But, I am in need of a riding lawn mower because of my massive yard, and I don't have the cash to pull off the purchase.  Unless I go to a rent to own where everyone is approved because they don't check your credit, but if I am going to pay for it I would love for the payment history to age on my report, instead of just being put on there when you pay it off.

[fused]

Inqs hit reports immediately, there is no lag time.

[Anonymous]

Thanks,

I will wait then, because I am really trying to have my scores higher before I purchase a new vehicle.

[RobertEG]

Contact the potential creditor, and ask whether they score their inquiries as soft or hard pulls.  They are at liberty to code it either way, and yet still get your full CR, which is all they really need for their credit decision.  Do they even report anything to a CR regarding subsequent account history?  They don have to.  Some small creditors only do inquiries, and do not make monthly reporting of payment history.  So ask them, in  advance.

If they approve your request for the credit, and they report, it will add a new account to your CR, and thus reduce your average age of accounts.  What is your current average age of accounts, and thus, how much impact will this have?

It will also add a new revolving account to your CR with a high % util.

If you app for new credit, yes, they will post the inq right away.  They have to post the reason for any inquiry in order to get your CR.  How long before they then post the new account, if they approve it, is a crap shoot. It could be the same day, or months from now.

I would suggest applying for the more important auto loan first, and then worrying about the grass.

[Anonymous]

My oldest acct is 10 years old.  I noticed you said something about util%, I was only considering getting a riding lawn mower, that wouldn't be factored into my util% if I bought the mower, from a local shop on credit would it?

[haulingthescoreup]

If your local shop reports to the credit bureaus, it would. It would hurt you or help you, depending on what you already have going on, and the credit limit and amount borrowed for this particular finance arrangement.

Would this report as a loan (a fixed amount borrowed with fixed monthly payments) or as revolving (you can go back and borrow more in the future)?

[Anonymous]

It would just be like a loan, like purchasing furniture with credit.  I did not think that kind of purchase would factor into util% for revolving accts.