While getting pre-approval for a mortgage we found out

DH's credit score is higher than mine. Not by a little.

I don't know exact #s (DH was there not me)

His was mid-upper 700s. Mine was mid 600's.

How can I bump mine up??

I had a car loan (only late MAYBE 3-4 times in 5 yrs), that just ended this past Feb.

I had CCs, but closed them all (LONG story, but DH & I were trying to cut down and consolidate - he said "Cancel everything" and I did - but he really meant keep 1-2 )

DH has one CC - he is the primary and I am an authorized user.

DH has a lease.

Should I get a CC? If so, what kind??? DH has a Discover.

We seldom use them, so I was thinking maybe one that has a reward program.

Anything else I can do?? I need to get a copy of my report and see what's on there


TIA

Re: While getting pre-approval for a mortgage we found out

There are a few things you can do to bump up your score.

Your first mistake, unfortunatly, was closing the credit cards. They look at your LENGTH of history. The longer you have cards, the better it is.

By closing all those cards you removed any history you had. You will, essentially, be looking at a very short "credit history".

Open a card and keep it.

The other thing tha goes against you is balance. One of the things that adds to your score is credit to balance ratio. if you have a card with 1,000 limit and are using $500 you have a 50% ratio. If you OPENED a card with another 1,000, then your ratio would be 25%. Screwed up, yes.

So by closing those cards you have no balance, and no ratio. It works against you.

Get your own card. Get a $5,000 limit (or whatever you can. USE IT!!! Im not an expert about paying off balance as opposed to carrying a balance so I dont want to tell you what to do. But if we google "pay off credit card balance or carry a small amout" you might get a better answer than I know of. But I personally pay everything off, every month. If I dont have the money to pay for it, I dont use my credit card.

So use the card, and pay it off, or ALWAYS ALWAYS pay MORE than the minimum. Paying JUST the minimum is BAD too.

Make sure you always pay it off on time.

Thats the short version. Also, if you DH's card has been open a long time, ABSOLUTLY get a card on his account. I know rules have changed as far as credit history (length) and family members, but it wont hurt at all.....UNLESS he is not paying it off, or has a VERY high balance in ratio to his limit.

If he is carrying 75% limit (he owes 750 on 1,000) thats also not good.

FM me if you have any more uestions. I completly fixed my creidt and have a score of over 800 now. I know of what I speak, and I will ALWAYS tell you if I dont know something.

Re: While getting pre-approval for a mortgage we found out

Re: While getting pre-approval for a mortgage we found out

Yep, exactly as she said. As silly as it is, you should never cancel a credit card. If you want to stop using it, just cut it in half but keep it active.

There's not much to do to increase your score other than wait and keep paying everything on time.

Oh, one other thing you may want to do is go to one of those sites that shows you your credit report and verify that everything looks right. If you have incorrect info on there, it could be bringing your score down.

good luck

Re: While getting pre-approval for a mortgage we found out

Just a thought. What if you called one of your old cc company and asked them to reinstate or reapply? Maybe you can get part of your history back?

Re: While getting pre-approval for a mortgage we found out