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credit card advice - looking to purchase house soon and don't want to hurt credit scores

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: credit card advice - looking to purchase house soon and don't want to hurt credit scores

My credit scores are 765 Equifax and 744 TransUnion and my future wifes Equifax is 797...i have friends who just got approved for a mortgage just over 5% rate who have worse scores than us so i'm not worried about getting tured down...i'm just worried that lowering my score for any reason could take us out of prime lending rates.

 

Message 11 of 18
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: credit card advice - looking to purchase house soon and don't want to hurt credit scores

What's the annual fee on the Amex?

 

Advice:  Do not close the Discover and Chase cards before you app for the mortgage.  After the mortgage, do some homework on this board - there are many benefits to keeping the cards open and sock-drawering them.  Consider paying the annual fee on the Amex and keeping it open til after the mortgage.

 

Whether or not to add the new card depends on several things.  How many inquiries are showing up on your reports (EQ? EFX? TU?)  Who does Ameriprise MC pull from?  How many new accounts have you opened in the last year?  What is your AAofA?  How much time between app'ing for card and applying for mortgage?  What are typical opening CL's for Ameriprise MC?

 

Try doing the simulator on myfico.com.  What type of score change possibilities does it predict with the addition of this new card?

 

 

Message 12 of 18
ocheosa
Valued Contributor

Re: credit card advice - looking to purchase house soon and don't want to hurt credit scores


@Anonymous wrote:
does having a high utilization on one card harm you? i tranferred all my balances to one card for the promotional rate for the convenience of making one payment and i was under the impression that they only looked at your overall utilization is this wrong?

No, you were not wrong. I tried this about 7 mos ago, the problem was when I would request a CLI, it would get denied for having a high balance on a card. Even when I pulled my reports there was a ding for it.  In this credit environment I would prefer not to give anyone a reason....so I paid off a chunk and moved the rest to another card. Again, just my experience. YMMV.

[4/23] Scores 8/9: 700-800s. Util: 1%. Inq/12: EQ 0, EX 5, TU 1. AoOA=14.8y, AoYA=9m.
TCL $618K: Personal $512K, Business $106K.
Message 13 of 18
haulingthescoreup
Moderator Emerita

Re: credit card advice - looking to purchase house soon and don't want to hurt credit scores

I had a high util (84%) on one card after opening a BofA card and using a 0% BT offer. The CL was $10K.

My overall util remained below 9%, and I didn't see any score damage. We've had other members report the same --high balance on one card, overall util OK, no score penalty. Add a second high util card, though, and wham!

After 6 weeks or so, I called BofA to say that I was worried that the high util would hurt my scores, and did I qualify for a CLI? They raised it to $15K. So it all worked out pretty well.
* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
Message 14 of 18
Uborrow-Upay
Valued Contributor

Re: credit card advice - looking to purchase house soon and don't want to hurt credit scores

Two things we all know for sure right now:  You've got good credit scores, and paying down balances never hurts FICOs (I know...unless you go to zero on everything).

 

So, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.  Just put a "spit-shine" on it, as txjohn would say.

 

Don't open anything, don't close anything.  Pay down the balance on the BOA consistently.  Your score will either maintain or go up.  Trying to tweak it any other way before app'ing for that mortgage arguably involves some risk, so why even take the chance?  

 

Congrats on the upcoming wedding, keep your eyes on the prize and welcome to the forum!

Message 15 of 18
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: credit card advice - looking to purchase house soon and don't want to hurt credit scores

believe the annual fee on the Amex is 125-150....

 

i can't do the score simulator because i purchased my scores in May and they are no longer available to look at...i could do the free 30 day trial to look at my core but i dont know if thats a good idea since i just purchased my scores recently... what do you think?

Message 16 of 18
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: credit card advice - looking to purchase house soon and don't want to hurt credit scores

sounds like good advice, thank you!
Message 17 of 18
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: credit card advice - looking to purchase house soon and don't want to hurt credit scores

How many inquiries are showing up on your reports (EQ? EFX? TU?)  - Answer - none

Who does Ameriprise MC pull from?  i  don't know how do i find this out?

How many new accounts have you opened in the last year? my last new account was April 2008, but for some reason it came up on one of my reports that i had one new account within the past year i did pull my reports in May so maybe it was too close of a date to opening the account and it would be different now

What is your AAofA? i dont have the report in front of me..i want to say over 7 years, i will get back with the correct answer when i get come and check my report

How much time between app'ing for card and applying for mortgage? the offer on the card is good until sept 1st so i would have to apply before then - mortage probably end of september

What are typical opening CL's for Ameriprise MC? i was told by my advisor at ameriprise i would probably be approved for between $10,000 and $13,000

 

 

i need to look at the reports and get specifics, i will get back to you with this info later, thank you!

Message 18 of 18
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