Home Depot Project Loan

[Anonymous]

I am currently in the process of buying my first home and expect to close in the next two weeks (initial closing date was 5/20 but due to all the rain we’ve been getting, the new septic is holding everything up). I have plans of quite a few improvements I’d like to make after closing including siding, gutters, fascia, soffit, exterior doors, three new windows, possibly some carpeting of three rooms (not a fan of hardwood floors), a new furnace, washer/dryer, and a refrigerator. When all is said and done after closing costs, I expect to have enough cash to cover all the exterior improvements and the three appliances. The problem is that I would drain my savings paying cash. I’ve been considering the HD Project Loan for a few weeks so that I can do what I need to get done and still have cash reserves. My question concerns which credit score model they use for the PL as well as which of the three scores they look at. I have fairly thin credit as I only started working on it about a year and a half ago. Up to that point, it was pretty bad. Two years ago my scores were around 450. Some old credit accounts dropped off which left me with only my student loans. At that point, I really started working on making my student loan payments on time every time. A little over a year ago, I opened my first credit card account. Three months later I opened one more credit card account and another revolving credit account. I’ve kept my utilization across all accounts at 25% or less and always pay them completely off 2-3 weeks before the due date. As of yesterday, MyFico shows my FICO 8 scores as Equifax -646 TransUnion-671 and Experian-674. Not exactly sure why Equifax is so much lower, but I chalked it up to it not including the last credit card payment since that account just reached the one year age mark a week ago. Any help with the model used, score they look at, and any other advice would be appreciated. I’d also be interested to know what amount range I should be expecting. I am thinking about $10k-$15k would cover most of what I want but don’t know if my income level would be high enough to get approved for that much. My income is roughly $50k a year and my debt payments including my mortgage will be approximately $800/month.

[Anonymous]

With TU sitting where it is, I would suggest looking at Lowe’s instead - Synchrony pulls TU for online apps and that score may get you where you need to be. I’ve also read that you can go into the store and have a project plan drawn up and entered into the computer, and they can check to see if they can approve you based on your project and your profile. HD is capable of decent limits but being backed by Citi, a much more conservative lender who seems to pull EQ a lot, I’d think you’d stand a better shot with Lowe’s.

[CreditInspired]

Hi and welcome to myFICO

What CCs do you already have?
What are the CLs?

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the input. I initially was leaning towards Lowe’s when I first found out about the project loans, but haven’t found much information on the Lowe’s loan and thought they discontinued offering them.

[Anonymous]

Both are secured cards. I have a Capital One with a $500 CL and a Discover It card with only a $200 CL. I got an automatic CLI at six months with the Capital One card so I am hoping for another since it just hit one year. I’m not holding my breathe though.

[Jnbmom]

I would also recommend the lowes credit card. As the others mentioned they tend to pull TU and even if they give you an initial low limit you can always called immediately or use the chat feature once you get the card (which I used) and get that limit raised stating you need more as you have some big purchases you need to make. I got an initial 2K and after I got my card entered the chat feature and got it bumped to 10K and think I left money on th a table lol.

Lowe's always runs 0% financing as well.

Good luck

[CreditInspired]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Both are secured cards. I have a Capital One with a $500 CL and a Discover It card with only a $200 CL. I got an automatic CLI at six months with the Capital One card so I am hoping for another since it just hit one year. I’m not holding my breathe though.

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IMHO, it’s going to be next to impossible to get a 10K CL with your scores, 2 secured cards, and a thin credit profile.

A solution could be getting a loan through your bank or CU (using your savings as collateral). This way the interest on the loan would be lower and your savings will stay intact. 

[atst2000]

OP I have to ask. Why would you want to pay a bank interest when you have cash to pay for the stuff you want? I get it that you maybe want to split the payments up, but cash is king. If it were me I wouldn’t open up a high interest project card to finance the stuff. Sure Lowe’s has 0% interest but in order to get a starting $10-$15k limit you preferably need at least a 700+ score. Save yourself some money and debt and use your cash.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the sentiment of using cash if you have it. Your profile is unlikely to net you a $10k starting CL. In regards to the loan, check out Lowes like others have said. Here's a link I found since you said you were having trouble finding info on it. Also for what it's worth my Equifax score is also lower and I'm not really sure why that is.

[coreysw12]

Something I learned about buying a home - you really don't need to do (and pay for) every single thing all at once immediately after you move in.

Just take it in stages. Write everything in a list, and prioritize it based on necessity and cost. After you move in, start at the top and work your way down. It's much better to do that than to buy everything all at once, most of which will sit in the garage for months before you have time to do anything with it.