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Credit cards and mortgages
lookstraightahead
Posts: 5,558 Forumite
Due to being oldish and having had previous debt which was all cleared without CCJs etc, between me and my husband we have credit cards with credit availability of nearly £100,000. Some of these cards we've had for yonks (30 years one of them). With regards to getting a mortgage, should we close some, keep them ticking over, etc. I'm trying to neaten up the credit files. I know having too much credit can be a bad thing but there's no adverse history on them just years of slavery.
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Comments
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I would say close them down. About 20 years ago I was in your position of having over £100k of available credit. I have reduced them to one Sainsbury's mastercard with a c£12k limit. I use it regularly and always pay in full. It's useful to have one CC but serves no positive purpose to have lots of unused facility that you could never envisage using.
Start getting rid of them.0 -
I'm in a similar situation and have left all of mine open, unless they charge fees. Leaving them open shows on your report as low usage of your available credit, suggesting you aren't dependent on it and have the self-control not to use it all. I have passed a credit check for a mortgage recently with about 30% of my limits used.
If you do close some, I would keep the ones you've had the longest, since long relationships seem to be a plus point for lenders.
It may be worth discussing your plans with a mortgage adviser since I assume different lenders have different attitudes to this.0 -
I would close some down.
Closed (settled) accounts stay on your history for 6 years so they wil lstill be able to see the good history.0 -
Do the cards offer 0% interest?
If so, just buy the property on the cards......0 -
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Keep what you require. No harm in housekeeping.
You may find in time that dormant accounts will not be renewed automatically. Lenders will ask if you still require the facility.0 -
If so, just buy the property on the cards......
As long as you have a plan for when the 0% ends0 -
I think it's all 0%. I think all the cards are thinking ... 'hang on, we've made so much money in the past from this gullible person, it's reducing our profit margin. Let's intice her back in'0
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lookstraightahead wrote: »I think it's all 0%. I think all the cards are thinking ... 'hang on, we've made so much money in the past from this gullible person, it's reducing our profit margin. Let's intice her back in'
Nah. 0% balance transfers are on the regulators radar. As create dangers of their own.0
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