Just open a CC account

Anonymous · ‎01-02-2008

Hi,

Last month, I opened a Capital One credit card in order to transfer a couple of CC balances ($3,200 from Citi and $2,000 from WaMu). Last time I checked, Dec. 30, 2007, myFICO EQ score was 757, and my EX score in Nov. was 762. Since I am looking for a house this summer, I wonder what is the impact of this transfer. One thing I am worrying about is whether it may be considered as "Maxed out" since Capital One has only $7,200 of credit limit. My overall util has been more or less 10%. Your comments would be appreciated.

Happy New Year!

Anonymous · ‎01-02-2008

How quickly do you plan on paying down the Capital One balance?

Anonymous · ‎01-02-2008

How fast?

I am thinking about $1,000 per month since I need some money for downpayment as well. Since it has a fixed rate until the balance is paid off, I may carry a couple of grands, in which point I can maintain my Util at 10%.

Anonymous · ‎01-02-2008

jsk wrote:
Hi,

Last month, I opened a Capital One credit card in order to transfer a couple of CC balances ($3,200 from Citi and $2,000 from WaMu). Last time I checked, Dec. 30, 2007, myFICO EQ score was 757, and my EX score in Nov. was 762. Since I am looking for a house this summer, I wonder what is the impact of this transfer. One thing I am worrying about is whether it may be considered as "Maxed out" since Capital One has only $7,200 of credit limit. My overall util has been more or less 10%. Your comments would be appreciated.

Happy New Year!

If you BT both of those cards to the Cap1 card, that will put you at 72% util on the Cap1 card. That's not great, but it's a far cry from being considered maxed out. I beleive the cutoff for that is around 85-90%.

If you're planning to pay $1,000 a month it should be paid off by May or June, right? If that's the case, wouldn't it be paid off before you go mortgage shopping?

Anonymous · ‎01-02-2008

The goal here is to have your 3 FICOs over 760 by the time you apply for a mortgage, so you can get the best rates. You're nearing that point already. Hopefully, paying down the Capital One debt by late spring will give you some added points, so your FICOs will be above 760. Just don't apply for any other credit cards now, since that could possibly hurt your scores.

Anonymous · ‎01-02-2008

Cheddar:

That's the thing I worried. However, my finance got a little bit tight last fall, so I bited the bullet. As you recommend, I will reduce/pay off the balance with Cap1, maybe a few months before I apply for a loan. Thanks for the advice.

Psychic:

You are 100% right. I guess I am walking on the very thin line since 760 makes a huge difference, maybe 25 basis points? I won't apply for any other CC for sure, and will reduce the balance as much as I can before applying for loans.

Message Edited by jsk on 01-02-2008 11:26 PM

Anonymous · ‎01-02-2008

jsk wrote:
Cheddar:

That's the thing I worried. However, my finance got a little bit tight last fall, so I bited the bullet. As you recommend, I will reduce/pay off the balance with Cap1, maybe a few months before I apply for a loan. Thanks for the advice.

jsk,

I wasn't really recommending any course of action, just pointing out that as long as everything goes according to your own plan, the BT to the Cap1 card shouldn't make a difference in your mortgage shopping, since according to your own timeline it looks like it should be paid off by the time you start the mortgage process.

GL to you.