Authorized User ~ to Add or not to Add

[slowlyclimbing]

Hi,

i am working on building my credit back up.  I currently have 1 credit card  and i am an AU on 3 other cards.  I do have the ability to add to more AU accounts that are over 2 years old with excellent payment history and credit limit of 5500 and 15500.  both cards have less than 10% utilization.

Do you think it would help my credit file or should i focus on my "own" credit cards?

Thanks

[OmarGB9]

I would focus on getting your own cards. AU accounts can only help so much. Unless they're decades old with huge limits, adding a few more won't help much at this point, IMO.

[slowlyclimbing]

Got it.  Are there any good credit cards to "try" for?

I only have a credit one ( i know i know) that I would love to close eventually.

My current scores are as follows:

EQ-674

TU-698

EX-690

My average age of acount is 89 months

I have a 10% utilization

and my most recent opened account is 17 months.

I want to get as much bang for my buck without causing a super huge drop in scores.

I plan to close on a house in May 2021

thanks for any help

[AllZero]

Do you know your EX2, TU4, EQ5 scores? It you are borderline or below optimal scores. It is recommended that you do not seek credit, thus lowering your scores if you are looking to apply for mortgage within a year.

Do yo have any derogatory or delinquency that needs to be addressed?

Free mortgage scores

EX2 + 3 Bureau scores and reports 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.

You can also obtain your 3 bureau mortgage scores at FICO Advanced . Cancel plan after you obtain your scores and reports to avoid re-occurring monthly charge.

[slowlyclimbing]

Hi AllZero,

My current are as follows:

EQ5-646

TU4-666

EX2-632

I already have a "prequal" but my house won't be done until May.  Just looking to see if there is anything that I can do to "boost" it more.

I have 8 student loan accounts that show a 90 day late on 2/2019, 6/2018, 7/2018.  They were back dated to forebearance but i'm having a really hard time getting the lates removed even with a letter showing they were in forebearance.

All other lates have been paid off/removed.  I currently have 1 credit card with 10% utilization.  I am an AU on 3 cards that have a 0 balance.

Not sure there is anything else i can do to boost any more

[AllZero]

Thank you for sharing the scores. 646 MMS is not too bad.

The goal would be to get on a clean a score card as possible. Those 90 day lates are suppressing your scores. I am not well versed in student loans. I can only recommend you try going into the Student Loan sub forum to seek assistance. Perhaps, other members can offer advice in regards to the SL?

[Anonymous]

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@slowlyclimbing wrote:

Hi AllZero,

My current are as follows:

EQ5-646

TU4-666

EX2-632

I already have a "prequal" but my house won't be done until May.  Just looking to see if there is anything that I can do to "boost" it more.

I have 8 student loan accounts that show a 90 day late on 2/2019, 6/2018, 7/2018.  They were back dated to forebearance but i'm having a really hard time getting the lates removed even with a letter showing they were in forebearance.

All other lates have been paid off/removed.  I currently have 1 credit card with 10% utilization.  I am an AU on 3 cards that have a 0 balance.

Not sure there is anything else i can do to boost any more

---

If they were fed loans, they are legally bound (through the higher education act) to accurate reporting and "retroactive forebearance" is a housekeeping item and does not remove lates from your credit report. They legally cannot remove them if they reported them. If you had gotten forbearance before they reported the lates, that would have been different, sadly.

I would strongly discourage seeking more credit within 6 months of a mortgage app. Pre-approval is based on your current credit profile and does not guarantee a mortgage if it changes. Even if does not change, you still have to go through the entire UW process.

While a thicker file would be ideal, if you were a year out from a mortgage, that would be a different scenario.

I would work out the other derogs, if any.

You are probably being penalized for "all zero" on the AU accounts. They are rated seperately and together. You need to have a small balance report to one of those AU cards.

I would not add more AU cards.

Also, during UW, the LO may ask you to remove yourself from the AU accounts or discard them altogether. There is no guarantee that they will accept them.

While many mortgages used to reuqire a 620 MMS, many are now requiring at least a 660 MMS. All lender dependent, so your pender (or others) may be fine with your current score, but I would not risk opening a new account at this time.

Others may have better advice or other suggestion, as there are many knowledgeable people here!

Good luck and let us know how it goes with your new home!

[slowlyclimbing]

Thank you for your detailed answer.  That is so helpful. 

I did just find that i have one account reporting as "charge off" with a balance of $2101 with a credit limit of 2k....putting my utilization at 105%.

Is that playing a big role on supressing my score as well?

[slowlyclimbing]

Do you know if the 90 day lates have less affect after reaching 2 years old?

[OmarGB9]

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@slowlyclimbing wrote:

Thank you for your detailed answer.  That is so helpful. 

I did just find that i have one account reporting as "charge off" with a balance of $2101 with a credit limit of 2k....putting my utilization at 105%.

Is that playing a big role on supressing my score as well?

---

Yes, most certainly. If you have the means, I would pay that off in full ASAP. That should hopefully yield a modest score increase.

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@slowlyclimbing wrote:

Do you know if the 90 day lates have less affect after reaching 2 years old?

---

No, unfortunately 90 day lates hurt the same the entire 7 years they're on your reports.