I am hoping to apply for a home loan in 2-3 months. My EQ score right now is 602, but I have sent a couple pay-for-delete letters and some DV letters & goodwill letters in the last week, hoping that clearing some of these items up will increase my FICO scores in the next couple of months. In the meantime, the only credit/debt that I have is on store credit cards (with balances below 20%), car loan is paid off. This doesn't give me the variety of types of credit that I understand that a lender would want, so does anyone think it would be a good idea to try to get one of these Discover Student cards that are advertised here on CreditNet for people with lower credit scores (and I AM a fulltime student)? I don't like the idea of having a hard inquiry pop up, but I'm wondering if the variety of types of credit would be valuable. ~MammaJ
You might have to wait a bit longer than 2-3 months to get your scores where you'll need them to be in order to secure a home loan. Lending requirements are really strict right now, and they're still getting tighter! Have you thought about getting a close relative or friend to add you as an authorized user on one of their accounts in good standing as well? That should give a nice boost to your credit scores too. Anyway...yes, you will want to show your lender that you have a proven track record of responsibly handling a variety of credit. A student credit card is a great way to get started, and the Discover Clear card is one of the best on the market right now. There's no annual fee and you can get up to 5% cash back on necessities like gas and food. You might also want to check out the Citi Forward card, which is another great student card that will reward you for paying your bills on time and staying within your credit limit. Remember, whatever card you get, use it sparingly (keep your utilization at 10% or less) and always pay your monthly balance in full! Good luck!
Actually, I did some reading about the chances of approval for the Discover Clear student card and it seems that it is extremely unlikely that I would be approved with credit scores in the low 600s. Does anyone else have any other insight on this? ~MammaJ
There's still a chance you could be approved for the Discover Clear with a score in the low 600s, but you're right- it's a toss up. If you're worried about your scores, you might want to check out some secured credit card options or some of the First Premier and Orchard Bank cards as well.
