EaglesFan2006 wrote:
Thanks... So basically a lender such as a mortgage co won't be turned off by number of cards as long as paymen history, age, and util are in good shape. That's good to know because I have plenty of time to get util lower and to stay lower
Mortgage lenders can be very finicky! At one time, when I did an original application for a mortgage, I had several cards, some with zero balance, others with a balance. The mortgage lender required that all of my credit card balances be zero before they would approve my mortgage loan application.
However, in doing a refi, and in talking my CU financial advisor for a HELOC, there was not the same level of concern about carrying a balance on credit cards. That's also never been a concern for other types of loans such as a car loan or unsecured loan. In actuality, if you've got your util at the optimum for FICO scoring, pristine payment history, and decent scores to begin with, you should be fine.
