Denied a home loan because of not using credit card enough? (accounts, bureaus)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
You can also buy something with a store credit card offering a same as cash interest rate. You can do this with cars, furniture or home improvement stores. Use their money instead of your own, and it will bolster your credit score.
To me BOA is an awful place to do business of any kind, so who cares what they say?
When you get close to being ready to buy a house, like 6 mos before, apply to get pre approved for a mortgage with a broker who shops for the best deals, and see if there are any areas that need to be tweaked.
Its great that you are debt free, but given you have 0% credit utilization, your credit score will continue to be marginal at best.
My credit scores average to 735, which is considered very good. And I don't have 0% credit utilization. I mentioned that I use the card about once every 1 or 2 years and pay it off ASAP.
63% of people in my generation (millennials) are favoring the use of debit cards over credit cards, including myself. Debit cards are the future. Credit cards are the past.
Thanks for posting an article that in the title points out that you're screwing up by using a debit card and it may come back to haunt you. Makes it easy to prove the point that has been almost unanimously pointed out. Debit cards have less protection and don't improve your credit score. Just because a lot of people are doing something doesn't make it smart.
And for what it's worth, I'm a millennial as well, and while you may think your 735 is "Very Good" my 800 is "Excellent"
Using a card once every year or two is not sufficent for a credit history. Many CC companies will report you as inactive during that time.
My credit scores average to 735, which is considered very good. And I don't have 0% credit utilization. I mentioned that I use the card about once every 1 or 2 years and pay it off ASAP.
If 735 was considered "very good", then why do banks charge higher fees and interest rates to individuals with credit scores below 750? I'm a millennial, but have responsibly used credit cards to achieve a score well above 800 and had no issues getting outstanding interest rates and extremely low fees on home loans (both on my initial purchase and when I refinanced).
Since you don't use your credit cards monthly, your credit utilization is essentially $0 for most months. This negatively impacts your credit score.
Last edited by aus1ander; 09-10-2014 at 05:52 PM..
Which company are you getting that 735 credit score from?
As of 1/1/2014, my credit scores are as follows:
Equifax: 737
Experian: 728
Transunion: 739
All three credit scores are accompanied by the descriptor "very good."
However, Suze Orman said that if your score is at least 700, you'll be fine. But if it's below that, you "have some work to do." So I'm just going by what she said. I mean, who should I believe......a famous personal finance expert vs. City-Data forum posters....you know?
All three credit scores are accompanied by the descriptor "very good."
However, Suze Orman said that if your score is at least 700, you'll be fine. But if it's below that, you "have some work to do." So I'm just going by what she said. I mean, who should I believe......a famous personal finance expert vs. City-Data forum posters....you know?
Before you go bashing the forum you came to in order to get advice, you should check your own facts.
FICO scores range from 300 to 850 points-the higher the score, the lower the predicted risk to creditors. Because every lender has a different model of what's acceptable, so there is no standard scale. As a general guideline, the median FICO score (half of consumers score above, half score below) is about 725. To qualify for the best loan rates, borrowers generally need scores above 760. Consumers with scores below about 620 will pay significantly higher rates and fees to obtain a loan.
Read this, then come back and try and tell us how your score is good
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
