Adding Credit cards build credit?

[Anonymous]

LOl. You know I have joined so many pages on Facebook and I don't think anyone has said that on there. 

[Anonymous]

Thank you! I will look into that. My scores are not close to what I have seen on here, I'm at a 656 but learning.

[Anonymous]

I dont know how to add the scores underneath like how you have yours but I have a 656 with experian and I'm only using Myfico/ Experian becuase I feel it's more accurate. 

[Anonymous]

That sounds reasonable with the revolving credit. I have two cards and one installment loan. 3,500 debt, one late payment, no credit companies soming after me, and one late payment that i had to settle with so i'm working on getting that removed. I do lack having older accounts. I'm learning alot from everyone on here. Thanks 

[FlaDude]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I'm so confused I don't have any new credit.... but wont I get more debt if I open a new credit card? We want to buy a house but it seems were just stuck and our credit scores are not moving. 

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If you want help in improving your scores, you'll need to supply more info about why they are low. Do you have any late payments on your reports? Do you have high balances or maxed out cards? Have you reviewed your credit reports to make sure they are accurate?

As others have said, adding credit cards will increase your available credit, but won't add to your debt unless you run up balances. If you do have a lot of debt, adding cards can help your scores by lowering your overall utilization %, but again, as others have said, don't apply for new cards within a year of when you plan to start shopping for a mortgage.

[Anonymous]

I relaized after I posted. Debt is 3,500, 1 late payment and 0 collections. Two revolving cards under 6% and 1 installment loan. 

[FlaDude]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I relaized after I posted. Debt is 3,500, 1 late payment and 0 collections. Two revolving cards under 6% and 1 installment loan. 

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If all cards and your total revolving utilization is low, then adding more cards won't help your utilization, but will lower your average age of accounts and age of youngest account, which are both detrimental to your scores. The conventional wisdom is that mortgage lenders don't like to see accounts opened in the last year, but that varies depending your on scores and the strength of your credit history. My daughter recently got pre-approved for a mortgage at the bank's best rate even though she has opened two new credit cards in the last year, but her scores are close to 800.

Late payments typically stay on your report for 7 years, although they have less effect over time. Was the late payment recent? Was it a 30, 60, 90, 90+? Who is it with? I havent been down this path, but some lenders are sometimes willing to remove late payments. Try going to the rebuilding forum and search for "goodwill letter" or just "goodwill". Maybe someone with more experience will chime in here too.