We just sold our home & went to get pre-approved for a new mortgage, and found out that my scores are significantly lower than what I believed. This means that I need to improve them as quickly as humanly possible in order to qualify (ideally within the next 30 days). My scores are being driven down primarily due to high credit card utilization (currently at 77%). I will have paid off all accounts to zero balances within the next two weeks, except for one card - which is my husband's and I am an authorized user on. I do not have the funds to pay this off in full within the next few weeks.
My accounts that I have paid off, have total limit of approximately $4000 and have a fairly long credit history (more than a few years on each of them). My husband's card that I cannot pay off, has a $2000 limit with a $1900 balance.
My question is - should I remove myself as an authorized user & get his account off my report - which would bring down my utilization to 0%, or leave it on there - even though it has a high utilization. I"m just worried if I remove it - it might negatively effect my score in some way!
Any advice is APPRECIATED!!
Starting Score: 534 (10.30.12)