Why three?

[Anonymous]

I've had 3 cards, one instalment loan drilled into my brain since I started this forum in Feb. Yet here I sit with only 2 cards and a loan lol.

The reason I only have two cards is because...
I started out with no credit score. I got lucky with discover secured and my credit union unsecured.
Another reason is I didn't want a bunch of subprime, high AF cards.

I have scores now. (Hit 6months this month.) However, DH and I want to buy a house in Jan.

How badly is NOT having 3 cards hurting my score? Would adding a third one now hurt my mortgage goal? I feel like it would drop my score in the short term and not recover in time for mortgage shopping. Is that correct?
Discover is 6 months old
OSCU visa is 4 months old

[Medic981]

 Three CC and one installment loan. This combination is what the myFICO score theorists here have determined is what you need for optimal credit building and FICO score. Two CC revolvers are not "hurting" your FICO scores, it is just not maximizing the scores you could be getting.

[Anonymous]

Furthermore, you don't want inquiries or new accounts 6 months to 1 year out from mortgage closing, stay where you are until you get the key to the house.

[Anonymous]

Thank you. My gut was saying to wait, and that it would hurt more than help right now but I needed ti double check. ☺

[Kforce]

---

@Anonymous wrote:
Furthermore, you don't want inquiries or new accounts 6 months to 1 year out from mortgage closing, stay where you are until you get the key to the house.

---

+ 1

As a data point:   I got my first mortgage with 2 cards and 1 auto loan and AAOA of 4 years.

Would not get another CC until after the mortgage.

[Anonymous]

I didn't get my first CC until 4 years after I got my mortgage (my oldest account after student loans dropped off my report). 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Kforce

Our scores are good (not amazing) now. So I don't want to mess with that. Our big hurdle is thin files, but was told that shouldn't stop us.

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous
How badly is NOT having 3 cards hurting my score?

---

Not much at all.  To attempt to quantify it, the average loss from not having 3 cards is about 8 points.  Some report only 4 or so, where the most I've seen reported is 12.  Overall, it's not a significant factor.

What is more significant is your total number of accounts.  3 revolvers is FAR less important than simply having a non-thin file, which most believe is 4+ accounts.  Many people (I was one for 10-15 years) roll with just 1 CC and do just fine by their scores.  Mine were in the 790-800 range for the better part of a decade with only 1 revolver, but I had plenty of other accounts on my CR, thus giving me a non-thin file.   

[Anonymous]

Thanks BrutalBodyShots, ☺

4 points isnt worth stressing over but 12 sure is lol
DH and I absolutely have thin and young files. 2 cards one instalment loan. But hopefully having clean files, long employment history and 20% down will override that.

[SouthJamaica]

---

@Anonymous wrote:
I've had 3 cards, one instalment loan drilled into my brain since I started this forum in Feb. Yet here I sit with only 2 cards and a loan lol.

The reason I only have two cards is because...
I started out with no credit score. I got lucky with discover secured and my credit union unsecured.
Another reason is I didn't want a bunch of subprime, high AF cards.

I have scores now. (Hit 6months this month.) However, DH and I want to buy a house in Jan.

How badly is NOT having 3 cards hurting my score? Would adding a third one now hurt my mortgage goal? I feel like it would drop my score in the short term and not recover in time for mortgage shopping. Is that correct?
Discover is 6 months old
OSCU visa is 4 months old

---

It's not hurting your score. You're doing fine. You can get perfect scores with 2 cards, so don't sweat it.  The best thing you can do when preparing for mortgage application is not to apply for anything.