Juggling balances question...

[tcbofade]

I'm not certain that this is the correct place to put this question, but it doesn't fit anywhere else and it DOES involve credit card balances, utilization, and FICO strategy, so I figure here is as good a spot as any...  please give me your opinion.

Last summer/fall, I opened quite a few new CC accounts for a variety of reasons, but mostly to take as much of DW's CC debt into my name as possible.  She then applied for a mortgage, was approved, and we closed 29 November on a short sale home that needed a LOT of work.

Immediately following the close, SHE opened quite a few CC accounts, mostly to assist me in roughly an 80% remodel on said home.   In our state, if we refinance the 1st mortgage before 29 November, we HAVE to use the same appraisal we used when we bought the home, and that wouldn't help us any.  Neither of our credit unions will write a 2nd mortgage or HELOC until AFTER 29 November, 2014....which is when we can get another appraisal and might as well rewrite the whole thing, depending on interest rates...we'll decide when we get there.

In the meantime, our CC utilization is GROWING, not shrinking.  We can't get bigger, better cards right now because we both have so many new accounts and high utilization.  (We're fine, we've just done a lot of work and have more to do...)

By the end of the year, I'll need her CC accounts paid down/off so that she can qualify for a refi or a 2nd... I'm not worried about her credit score or history, just her DTI.  My thought is to do the same thing that I did last year, ie open more accounts in MY name to move her CC balances OFF of her credit reports.  As of yet, I won't qualify.

Should I put some of MY balances into HER name (reducing MY util) so that I will qualify for larger credit lines which I would use to transfer MORE of her CC balances back into my name before the end of the year?  That seems logical, but scary.

Should I just continue to garden (i.e. do nothing) and hope my scores rise as new accounts / inq's get older?  The fear there is that my util is going UP, not down, and I might not qualify for bigger, better cards anyway.

Your thoughts?

[tcbofade]

P.S.  We are already sitting on GOBS of equity...we bought the place for roughly half off.....we just can't touch it yet... and I'm afraid that her DTI will make it difficult to unlock come 01 January.

[Creditaddict]

Why don't you list your cards limits/balance and hers

[Ghoshida]

Hi tcb,

What is driving the increase in utilization?

Can some of the spending be controlled? Is the upsurge temporary? If the increase is temporary (you should be knowing the horizon) then getting new cards might work as a solution. 

I am new to the credit market myself, but I think two things need to be considered:

1) How confident are you that you'll be able to control the utilization? That'll determine whether you can successfully move DW's CC debt onto yours. Otherwise her DTI will look worse before the refinancing.

2) What will be the impact of these new apps on your refinancing? The timing of the apps will be critical, accordingly.

Other, more knowledgeable members could chip in.

[tcbofade]

thanks both.

Addict, I saw your PM and will respond, but it's going to take more time than I have today.  (50+ accounts)

Ghoshida, the vast majority of the util issue is home improvement/repair.  (Just found two MORE projects today...booo)    I believe the horizon will be somewhere around the beginning of the year, when she can refinance.

MY applications, inq's, utilization are irrelevant to the refinance.  Both names are on the deed, but only SHE has a mortgage, and only SHE will be looking to refi and/or take a second.