Advice for Mother

[dragontears]

First off a big thanks to Imperfectfuture for posting their story in the mortgage forum, before reading that thread I had no idea my mother could qualify for any kind of mortgage based on her income.

The Plan:

Have DM get 3 cards of her own in the next month or so. Garden for a year then start the mortgage process.

Background info:

DM currently has a VERY thin file, only thing on it is a closed student loan from 2000 and an AU account that is 6 months old (my Sallie Mae card $12.3k limit) which she uses for gas and I pay every month (reports 2-4% Utilization).

She has no collections, late payments, etc.

Her scores are in the low 700s thanks to the AU account but for lenders that don’t count AUs her “score” to them will of course be lower.

No HP on any of the CRA.

Annual income ~15k (this is the part that makes me unsure what cards she can get); she is on disability and lives alone.

Needs/wants in a card:

High limits are not necessary

No travel/points cards as her spend is not high enough to make them worth it and she does not fly, will only stay in budget hotels when she travels (by car)

Prefer no AF; once again her spend is not high enough to justify an AF

Frequent Costco shopper so getting at least 1 Visa would be nice for after they switch

No desire to open another bank account just to get a CC

Does not dine out, grocery is likely her biggest category expense since I pay for her gas.

A free FICO score would be nice but not required

Current thoughts/options for cards:

1. Have her go to her CU and get a card from them (has banked with this CU for 20 years)
2. Discover tends to like clean thin files but would her income make it a no go?
3. She is prequalified on Cap1 site for the QS and Venture but once again not sure if her income will qualify
4. Thought about the Wynham card since that is the hotel chain she typically stays at when she does travel but my understanding is Barclay likes to see a year of history with cards before they will approve.

Questions:

Are there other potential cards I have not thought of?

Anyone know how Discover and Cap1 are with low incomes?

I know there are several low/fixed income people on these boards; do you have any advice for her?

Sorry for the long post but I wanted to provide details in order to get quality feed back

[dragontears]

Forgot to add: No store cards

[Anonymous]

BCE seems like it would be a good fit--wouldn't expect a high limit, but I would think she would be able to get a 500-1000 approval with those scores.

[Anonymous]

With Capital One, they state the following under their terms and conditions for the Quicksilver in regards to income (why your app could be declined) 

• My monthly income does not exceed my monthly rent/mortgage payment by at least $425 (my monthly income is my disclosed total annual income divided by 12) or I am otherwise determined to be unable to make my monthly payments based on income, estimated living expenses and other debt I am responsible for.

So you would have to do the math and see if after your mom pays her rent/mortgage (and any other debt showing on her credit report), if she still has at least $425 left over every month. If she pays $0 for rent/mortgage right now she should be okay.

[dragontears]

Thanks for the feed back so far.

I will have to check Amex for prequal after work for her.

Good to know about Cap1 income requirements, her current rent is rather low so she should be more than $425 above it. Do you know if that is for the lower teir cards (i.e. QS1) or if it includes the higher teir cards (i.e. QS visa)?

[Anonymous]

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@dragontears wrote:

Thanks for the feed back so far.

I will have to check Amex for prequal after work for her.

Good to know about Cap1 income requirements, her current rent is rather low so she should be more than $425 above it. Do you know if that is for the lower teir cards (i.e. QS1) or if it includes the higher teir cards (i.e. QS visa)?

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That info was taken directly from the T&C for the higher tiered Quicksilver visa, so yes, it includes their higher tiered cards.

[dragontears]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@dragontears wrote:

Thanks for the feed back so far.

I will have to check Amex for prequal after work for her.

Good to know about Cap1 income requirements, her current rent is rather low so she should be more than $425 above it. Do you know if that is for the lower teir cards (i.e. QS1) or if it includes the higher teir cards (i.e. QS visa)?

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That info was taken directly from the T&C for the higher tiered Quicksilver visa, so yes, it includes their higher tiered cards.

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Thanks!

[dragontears]

So just did the Amex prequal for DM, came back with 2 charge cards and the ED with a solid 13.24% APR. (she would still go for the BCE if she goes for an Amex)

Anyone know how Amex is with lowv income?

[Anonymous]

I don't have the most experience with Amex, but if she got pre-qual for the ED with a decent APR you should be able to get the BCE as its a very similar card. I also know that lower income can get approved for no AF revolvers. Best of luck!

[dms42]

My mom is in a similar situation and I just helped her get 4 good cards. My mom has the military affiliation so she was able to get in under USAA and NFCU. But, she also got a Discover Card with a $4K limit and low interest. So Discover might be good too.