Mortgage Score Maximization?

[Anonymous]

Hi Community

I am currently looking to get the highest mortgage score that I can possibly get for DW and I. Over the last year I spent most of my time fixing and building DW's score from a 548 Fico to a 705 Fico as of 3.16.20.

We got our FHA approval November '19 with the lowest mid score being mine @ 562. I was hit with 7 missed payments by Navient the month or so before preapproval (will explain below). I use Cap1's credit grading scale as it seems to be the most accurate when it comes to the metrics v relative score, i.e: every "A" grade bracket I reached, my score increased vantage & fico. The only thing that really affects a score change right now is the reported UTI for the previous month. 

My main question is...what would you all do to get your mortgage score increased? - DP's below (updated as of 3.18.20)

FICO Score8:

Mine - Ex: 683  Eq: 659  Tu:671 - Mortgage Score FICO2: 632 - i think I would be low 700's if not for the late payments

DW - Ex: 705  Eq: 708  Tu:708 - Mortgage Score FICO2: 673

Total Credit Limits:

I have about $90,100 with uti at 11% -  DW has $107,400 with uti at 9% - we are AU's on each others cards. individual card limits are in signature (needs updating, had about 4k in cli's last month)

AAoA:

My aaoa was lowered because we went on an app spree for growth cards and I was added as an AU which dropped mine from 8ish yrs to 3.9yrs & it dropped hers to 3.2yrs. We were not expecting to buy  house for another year.

Late payments:

7 late payment from Navient added around Sep/Oct '19. I actually am not liable for my student loans as they were supposed to be covered by the VA during the time I was in school (have letter stating this). Also I am currently in school full-time, with the VA covering my classes. For some odd reason all of my reports say 100% payment history even thought there are late accounts on file. DW has 6 late payments, 3 are hers and 3 are from a CU account that her ex-husband opened without her knowledge or consent, right after she served him papers. I was able to get a letter from the CU staing that the account should be taken off her credit. The other 3 are from Target in which we sent out goodwill letters on 3/17.

Total debts:

I have $31,479 - Consist of a Cap1 car loan (little under 22k) and current revolving debt (ranges from 4k-9k each month); revolving debt would be $0 but all extra income is being saved for the last portion of down payment

DW has $68,001; she is still on my loan as co-signer and getting hit with about 22k. Trying to find the best way to get her off. At the moment a refi would do more damage than good. We bought her a 2019 Traverse in Nov 2018 (about 32k left), both of us on it then refinanced 3 months later at CU and to get me off. Other debt is the same revolving 4k-9k.

Just curious how others would tackle this. I think this may be as high as I can get them for now, but would like any input.

[19eighty5]

This question has been asked many times in this forum so I would definitely recommend that you search through recent posts. The most popular method is leveraging AZEO (all credit card balances at zero, except one). @AllZero has a great summary of how it works (keep your eye out for this when searching) along with how many points you gain through decreases in utilization and passing utilization thresholds. Good luck!

[AllZero]

I would recommend reading the below from ABCD2199
The Truth about Credit Card Utilization
My 11 Rules to Credit Rebuilding
FICO Score: What to pay down first?

[AllZero]

Free mortgage scores

EX2 + 3 Bureau report for $1 at Experian or CreditCheckTotal (part of Experian). Cancel in 7 days or less to avoid the reoccurring charge.

TU4 WyHy quarterly score. Not sure on membership requirement. Maybe hard pull TU?

EQ5 Get a savings account with DCU. Soft pull EQ to be a member. Free monthly score.

[AllZero]

Not knowing your exact details, below are benchmarks for FICO 8. Scores lenders use for mortgage are EX2, TU4, EQ5; should react similarly.

Remember these aggregate utilization thresholds: 8.9%, 28.9%, 48.9%, 68.9%, 88.9%
If you're not crossing a threshold, you won't be getting points.

Aggregate: 10-15 points for aggregate crossing a threshold.

Individual: ~5 points points for individual crossing a threshold.

Look into AZEO Technique. All Zero Except One card reporting a small balance e.g. $5-$10. Use a bank card. Do not use a store card.

Get your CC aggregate utility at or below 8.9% for full FICO points optimization.

Scores will react positively with one revolving credit card reporting a balance.

You might want to address any derogatory you have; delinquency, charge off, collection, etc. If they are updating monthly, it'll keep your scores suppressed.