I would advise that they first check with their prospective mortgage lendor regarding underwriting requirments before adding them as an AU.
The lendor may require removal of any AUs as part of their underwriting process, thus making the addition now as an AU inadvisable.
As background, whenever a consumer has an AU entered into their credit file/report, that automatically means that any score produced based on that report is no longer representative of only the credit history of the named consumer. By definition, it has the credit history of at least once account of another included in their scoring.
If a propsective lendor does not do a thorough manual review as part of their approval determination process, as is the case with many lower limit credit cards, then the reviewing creditor wont be aware that the associated credit score is not based only on the credit history of that consumer. Thus, addition of AUs can be a good way to build/rebuild.
However, when you apply for larger amounts of credit, such as a mortgage loan, the creditor will usually do a more detailed, manual review of the entire credit report. Upon seeing the inclusion of an AU account, they are aware that the provided score is not based only on the credit history of the applying consumer.
Many creditors will thus require the removal of any AU accounts prior to completion of the approval process.
Lendors are well aware of the AU process and its potential inflation of credit scores......
I would advise an informal call to the prospective lendor prior to adding an AU account, and ask about their mortgage underwriting requirements as they relate to AU accounts......
