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I am getting ready to close on a purchase of a home in two weeks. The loan amount is $296,000. I currently don't have a mortgage on my credit bureau. I have the following charge cards, all less than a year old.
AMEX Green Card
Discover IT $25 Balance / $1600 Credit Line
Capital One $0 Balance / $500 Credit Line
NFCU Cash Rewards $0 Balance / $500 Credit Line
LMCU Rewards VISA $0 Balance / $1000 Credit Line
Amazan Charge Card $0 Balance / $1200 Credit Line
MicroCenter / Wells Fargo $0 Balance / $1000 Credit Line
Ford Motor Credit Installment $8000 Balance / $18,000 Orignal Balance
Income is $140,000 per year.
Have 4 collections, paid off almost a year ago. Some late payments from 4 years ago on car loan.
The Home I am buying needs some renovations and such. I figured Home Depot or Lowe's Credit Card with their Special Promotions would be nice cards to have while I begin working on the home and renovating.
Of course I am not applying for anyting now. Questions:
1) When I close in a couple of weeks, how long will it take before the mortgage his my credit bureaus?
2) Will I see a noticeable impact to my scores
3) Should I wait till the mortgage hits then apply for the store cards? Or do it right after the closing?
I figure I could use between $10,000 - $15,000 to get everything done.
My Current Credit Scores are: (FICO 8 from myFICO subscription as of 12/11/2018.)
Equifax: 671
TransUnion: 663
Experian: 644
I have 18 inquires in the last 8 months.
Also as a side note, over a year ago I had no chance in getting a mortgage, my credit was bad. I found this site in February and started alot of hard work. Now less than a year later I am closing on my home. Thanks to everything I learned here.
Any advice would greatly be appreciated.
Congrats on your soon to be new home and your credit journey!
When to apply....you can apply after you close. You don’t have to wait till your mortgage is reported.
As for which card, both cards can grow, but the Lowe’s card can grow quicker imo bc it backed by Sync. Home Depot is Citi and their underwriting can be a little stricter. You’d be fine with either one, but for the amount of work you wanna do, I’d start with Sync.
As for when your mortgage will hit or score impact, maybe someone else will chime in. I do remember when my mortgage initially hit my reports, my score took a dip.
I know that I don't need to wait till the mortgage is reported, but what I was thinking is that when it is reported does that help me in acquiring more credit? Do CC and Retail Card Lenders see that I have a mortgage and does the benefit me in their decision?
Your score will very likely dip when the mortgage first reports. Therefore, I recommend you apply shortly after you close in order to maximize your odds (approval and limit).
I agree with JAG about Lowes. That card should grow much faster than HD.
@charlesentis wrote:I know that I don't need to wait till the mortgage is reported, but what I was thinking is that when it is reported does that help me in acquiring more credit? Do CC and Retail Card Lenders see that I have a mortgage and does the benefit me in their decision?
No. You already have an open installment loan with Ford. All the mortgage will do at this point is add to your DTI. Once you get the keys in your hand I would apply for Lowe's before your mortgage reports. Just my $.02
I'd be curious what the experts here say but I believe it can and does improve one's profile. That said, I think it may correlate to the utilization.
A mortgage is a secured loan and a home is an asset. As a mortgage is paid down, that very likely means the owner has equity. I would think significant equity in a large asset translates into reduced risk. All of this is sheer speculation on my part
@charlesentis wrote:I know that I don't need to wait till the mortgage is reported, but what I was thinking is that when it is reported does that help me in acquiring more credit? Do CC and Retail Card Lenders see that I have a mortgage and does the benefit me in their decision?
I was just in the same situation as you, my mortgage closed in september, my score dropped 20 pts or so, Apped for the lowes, low limit, called them and its at 35k now, HD just approved me for 6k last week, I would app for Lowes first, you should be fine.
Congrats on the purchase.
Last year around June we closed our house and a week before that I applied for HD SL of $8,000 then Lowe's SL of $3,037. If I had known Lowe's is more generous; I would've applied first there then HD.
CLI's on HD is always HP as they say, but they gave me auto CLI just last month. Lowe's on the other hand is always SP on CLI and give huge increases.
When it comes to what's in them I say 80% is about the same but IME HD does not have Gazebo and Security cameras (at least easy access to buy) while Lowe's has them and has plenty of choices.