first my credit scores ar 661 tu and 654 eq. i have one credit card witha $300 balance and will soon have a 340k mortgage its only a few days to a week from closing. those will be my only active accounts on my credit report untill we decide to buy a new car. most likely will put that on my wifes credit when it gets better. my question is would it be wise to open another credit card and keep it at a zero balance like i do the other one. i dont even carry my other card on me its at home in my safe i would do the same with a new one. whould this boost my score or is it just a bad idea?
Starting Score: 549 EQ JAN 2012 MY FICO 569 TU JAN 2012 MY FICO JAN 2012
For FICO, two credit cards is better than one, and I think everyone will agree with that point. Open it after you finish the mortgage process.
Not certain why you leave your card at home all the time, you want to be running something through it anyway to keep it active... and if you're using a debit card instead, a credit card is in all ways superior honestly. Cash-based existance, I'd suggest transitioning sooner than later as I started doing six months ago.
yeah i wasnt planning on doing it untill after the house closes. i do use my credit card i use it to pay the bill for myfico.com, and netflix so it does get used i just chose to not use it to buy lunch, gas, etc. it does get its use but not for everyday items. its used to pay subscriptions like this.
Hey tuntavnerarty, I know this is a bit off topic, but I was reading your post and noticed you were closing on your house (congats by the way), and me and my wife are looking to purchase a home in the near future at a similar price and I was wondering what were some key factors that helped in getting you approved (ie, credit scores, income, etc...)??? Any input that you can give me would be really helpful. We're first time home buyers out of Georgia. Thanks in advance!!!
iu would do the same with the new card also but i would probably pay for sirusxm radio, and the watersoftening service on the new house that way its always paid but i wont carry it on my person.
for creditresurection.
well i initially didnt qualify for the loan beacuse my credit was somewhere in the neighborhood of 540 at the time. i had alot of delinquent accounts. i ended up paying every account on my credit report off asap. i opened the $300 credit card and keept the balance low bellow 5% balance. then it was just a waiting game for my score to go up. but in regards to getting approved i think it was a combination of my credit score being above 620 and the fact that i make $77000 a year at my job plus $13224 in Veterans disability payments a year ($1102 a month) and my wife makes about $55000 a year for a total of $145224 a year. income has just as much to do with getting a loan as your credit score does the bank wont give $360000 loan to a person with a 850 credit score that only makes $15 bucks an hour. i hope that helps
oh and one thing i might add my score was 540eq in dec 2011 now in june 2012 its 654 eq
@tuntavnerarty it helps a ton!!! I make around 80 grand a year on average, but given my profession it could double or triple any given year so I never really have a sure fire number, but I am ready to put down 20 percent. I think I'm going to take your advice and just fine tune my credit a bit more before replying. As of today I've managed to get every negative account deleted from my records, so my score should be going up in the next month of so. I'll keep you guys posted.