Nervously awaiting closing

[vegas757]

I have closing scheduled in two weeks...Aug 17th. My score weren't great/good at the time I was approved through automatic underwriting (619/631/631) in the beginning of June. I am doing the VA thing with Wells Fargo, 3.75%. My good points: 70k/yr, 16 years on job, and 0 debt, no lates in past 13 months. My bad: credit history, scores, only two open credit card accounts. My question is I have read that hard inquires can hurt your score. The only one I have had is the one the lender did back in June. I am worried that this may cause my middle score to drop below 620, which is the minimum for my VA loan. My two credit cards have yet to report to the bureaus, usually around the 6th. My balances are less than 1% on both. This may sound foolish, but should I pay them off or carry the balances that would be reflected when or if they check my credit again?  Every bit may help me. Thanks

[vlaw1084]

Hello future homeowner

Keep active balances on those cards, but only carry about 10-15% on each one of them. ( Of course make sure you pay the minimum balance due, but calculate it so it will show up reporting that ratio.)   The hard inquiry on your credit should only bring you down no more than 5 points, and the plus side when Wells did the hard pull, that should be good for the lender and VA for 90-120 days from the date of the pull. ( just finished with a VA loan, and which is now serviced by Wells)  What they will check for is any additional debt that could ruin your debt to income ratios. It seems like you've done everything right, so............Relax, get a glass of wine,and enjoy the ride it will soon be over and you will be a new homeowner!  

[Anonymous]

I read under the FAQ on the rebuilding your credit forum that you should carry 1-9% on just one of your cards with the other one being paid completely off. I am not a professional by any means, but I have noticed that by doing that, my score has improved by about 10 points. I also have just two cards. I was tettering close to the cut off like you so every point helped. Best of luck!