Understanding FICO® Scoring

[avv7c0]

Good morning. I have a small installment loan of about $900 that I have the ability to pay off. The interest rate is 12% and the monthly payment is $50.

I have a total installment loan balance of $52,000 across student loans, car loan, etc. Credit card util is $2,000 of $33,000 limit, and i only maintain this balance for score purposes.

Current score is 780, due to multiple inquiries surrounding our home construction and mortgage app.

Since I have the ability to pay off the $900 loan, should I? And if so, what are the likely score implications both positive and negative?

[llecs]

I'd PIF ASAP. There wouldn't be any negative FICO ding with everything else being equal. You might see a small bump with an added $0 balance, but it depends on how many TLs report a balance already in relation to your total number of TLs.

[pizzadude]

+1.   I'd pay it off.   IMO paying off debt is always a good thing.