No Fico score... now what?

[Anonymous]

So I am trying to get my ducks in a row to purchase a house. I recently got a discover secured card at the end of last month. I checked my Fico on my discover app after getting my card and was made aware that I have no FICO and won’t have one for 6 months. Is there anything else besides keeping my utilization below 30% and making my payments on time that I should be doing in the mean time? Besides the one secured card is there any other lines of credit I can take out with no Fico to help add some extra open accounts to my report? I am planning on applying for a FHA loan and was hoping to be ready to do so in 8-10 months.

[Remedios]

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@Anonymous wrote:
So I am trying to get my ducks in a row to purchase a house. I recently got a discover secured card at the end of last month. I checked my Fico on my discover app after getting my card and was made aware that I have no FICO and won’t have one for 6 months. Is there anything else besides keeping my utilization below 30% and making my payments on time that I should be doing in the mean time? Besides the one secured card is there any other lines of credit I can take out with no Fico to help add some extra open accounts to my report? I am planning on applying for a FHA loan and was hoping to be ready to do so in 8-10 months.

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Hi and welcome to the forums 

I'd grab a couple more secured cards, let them age together. When you're ready to start the mortgage process, you'll want only one card reporting a balance under 9%. 

Additional cards are not necessary but because you're planning on buying a home, it might be for the best if you are able to snag a couple more.

Another thing, in most cases, recommendation is to not apply for anything in a year preceding mortgage application, and you did not specify when exactly you're looking to start. 

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your response. Do you recommend getting a credit builder loan at $25 a month? We make enough that I am not real worried about the effect it will have on our debt to income but didn’t know if having a loan with on time payments might help me. I am really trying to work hard on my partners scores because she makes the majority of our income so applying without her isn’t a great option but her score has a LOT of derogs and needs a lot of work. Her credit age is a lot older than mine though. So I am just wanting to get my credit to where it is building so that I can really focus on hers.

[Anonymous]

8-10 months is relatively soon as a target time to be going for a mortgage if you're still "building" your profile by adding accounts now.  I would proceed with caution.

[Anonymous]

What exactly should I be cautious of? I don’t know a lot about mortgages. What do you consider a reasonable amount of time before applying for a FHA?

Edited to add. The other option is to work on my wife’s score because she could probably qualify for the loan with just her income. I’m just not sure how to proceed forward at this point. We currently live with my parents and don’t really have 2-3 years to work with. Renting is very tricky for us because we have 3 dogs two of which are usually considered aggressive breeds. So we’re kind of at the point where we have to be all in on getting these scores under control and moving forward.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:
So I am trying to get my ducks in a row to purchase a house. I recently got a discover secured card at the end of last month. I checked my Fico on my discover app after getting my card and was made aware that I have no FICO and won’t have one for 6 months. Is there anything else besides keeping my utilization below 30% and making my payments on time that I should be doing in the mean time? Besides the one secured card is there any other lines of credit I can take out with no Fico to help add some extra open accounts to my report? I am planning on applying for a FHA loan and was hoping to be ready to do so in 8-10 months.

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It's better for you to make no new applications at this time, until after the house closing. If you want, you could add some money to the secured card deposit account, so you can increase the credit limit.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
What exactly should I be cautious of? I don’t know a lot about mortgages. What do you consider a reasonable amount of time before applying for a FHA?

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The typical recommendation around these parts is to not apply for credit in the 12 months leading up to a mortgage application.  Not only will this help your scores, but it's a much better look upon a manual review as well.