FICO scores

Discussion in 'Credit Talk' started by skynet83, Nov 6, 2001.

  1. skynet83

    skynet83 Member

    I am applying for a mortage loan Dec 1 and I have a question. I have four credit cards that are almost to limit and I know its killing my FICO score. One of the credit cards Providian is closed by credit grantor (long story) and has a credit limit of $1,000 and a balance of $995, I have a Bank of America card with a $500 limit and $400 balance and a First Premier card with a $500 limit and a $450 balance and a CAP One with a $500 limit and a $400 balance. My question is I have about $1200 put back to apply to my credit card balance. Should I apply all of it to my open card balances and don't worry about Providian right now since its closed or will they include that balance to limit ratio along with the other cards? I just want to know the best way to distribute $1200 to get the maximun FICO score boost.


    Thanks,


    Skynet83
     
  2. kustomkat

    kustomkat Well-Known Member

    pay off your open balances....
    this will help you more..
    if your providian account is past due and closed paying it off may get you a fico point if your lucky...


    Kev
     
  3. ohnostuck

    ohnostuck Well-Known Member

    you said that your account was closed by grantor? Was it because of late pays? I am NOT an expert, but it seems to me to split that evenly between them all. Just because your account is closed doesn't mean that you arn't getting charged intrest. They just are not letting you use the card. Most mortgage companies make you pay all closed accounts before you can close.
     
  4. ohnostuck

    ohnostuck Well-Known Member

    I forgot to ask why you are applying on the 1st? You are going to want to close the loan the LATEST in the month possible because of intrest charges. That being right in the middle of the holidays.
     
  5. skynet83

    skynet83 Member

    It was because of stupidity on my part. I bounced two checks within a year that I used to pay my Providian account. I payed ontime for a year and a half and I made two mistakes and they closed my card so be forewarned that they do not play when it comes to this matter. I learned the hard way.
     
  6. skynet83

    skynet83 Member

    My broker is aware that I am trying to clean up last minute credit details. Her strategy is to use some sort of rapid investigative technique (I have heard this technique on this board but I forgot what they call it.) She says that she can get me closed by the 21st.
     
  7. ohnostuck

    ohnostuck Well-Known Member

    OK I gotcha.
     
  8. G. Fisher

    G. Fisher Banned

    Apply now.

    The mortgage company is in the best position to tell you how the many factors can affect you. What would happen in the automated underwriting system if you use the money for a bigger down payment instead of reducing your debt? Only the mortgage lender can tell your that.

    Don't wait.

    But, why don't you work on you credit file for three months, and apply from a position of strength (instead of desperation)? You're maxed out on credit cards, but you're buying a house?
     
  9. skynet83

    skynet83 Member

    Greg,
    You have a good point... I didn't give enough detail in my post. I have been working on my credit for about 8 months now. I have 90% of my blemishses off of the BIG 3. I have very high income, 10% down payment and my scores are hovering around 620 on average. I had the mortgage broker pull my credit a few days ago and she thinks that by paying off my credit cards that I will get a boost in points since I don't have that many derogs left.
     
  10. Marie

    Marie Well-Known Member

    well, if I were you I'd do an online Cap1 pmt in full and I'd also pay off the other 2

    then you only have the providian issue which must be resolved before closing.

    it does seem odd you have 10% for a house but are maxed on credit cards (even if they are small limits). ratios on credit cards are a big score driver. pay now and you can get rescored later.

    your broker can tell you how to deal with providian.
     
  11. skynet83

    skynet83 Member

    Yeah... your right about maxing out credit cards being a score killer. I did't know that until recently how much it was killing my score. The 10% downpayment comes from me selling some stock that I had accumulated from an old company which I just cashed in on, so I didn't have access to that until now. I spent all of my disposable cash on paying off old debts etc for the past several months. I used Junum for a while and did the rest on my own. I really didn't worry about the credit cards being maxed out since I knew I could wipe them out for about $2,000 or less. In this case I actually ended up with about $1,200 to spare to apply to my balances.


    Thanks for the opinion.... its greatly appreciated.
     
  12. G. Fisher

    G. Fisher Banned

    Reasons

    What are the four (from each CRA) reasons given that your scores are not higher?
     

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