Bumpy Credit? Don’t close all of your credit accounts!

Another reason that people who want to buy a home can’t is that while they were working on their credit themselves, they closed all of their credit accounts.  One thing that can make a big difference to your credit score is to not have any revolving credit.  Lenders want to see that you can charge it up and pay it off.  Or at least, make your minimum monthly payment.  So, even if you have worked tirelessly to get your credit above 620, you might not be approved if you don’t have any open credit lines.  So what do you do if you have closed all of your credit lines?  Open a secured card.  You can search for these on line and they require a deposit up front.  Whatever the deposit requirement is, that’s your credit limit.  Don’t go all crazy and charge it up to the limit.  There is no point in opening a new trade line and maxing it out.  Keep your balance to 30% of the maximum.  On a $500 secured card that is a balance of no more than $150.  Buy some gas, put the gym membership on it and pay it off every month.  The good thing about secured cards is that they start reporting to the credit bureaus pretty quickly and will help to raise your score when you need it done in a jiffy.  Need more help with this?  Call one of our sales offices and we might just surprise you with how we can help! 1-800-ANTARES