Don't trust people...

**ls1camino** · 07-28-2009, 10:06 AM

...when it comes to your credit...no matter if it's your parents or the credit card company

So, here is the story. When my parent's moved overseas and left me in charge of their house, my mother got a credit card though USAA and told me to only use it for major house related bills (for example: if a new fridge was needed). So, la-dee-da, two years later I am now applying for a mortgage through my bank (this was late June/early July). They inform me that my credit score was 695 and that I have too much debt. My reaction (to the debt) was this:

. So, come to find out my mother has been using the credit card and has racked up over $5k on it. Another thing you might want to know about my mother is that she is NEVER on time with payments, so the "delinquent payments" on my credit report were from that...I was not happy to say the least. So, I called USAA (the credit card company) and told them to remove me from the card. They said they would and that it would take 10 business days for it to be removed from my credit score. Fine, I can deal with 2 weeks.

Fast Forward to Sunday...I find an awesome house about an hour from where I live now...1800 sq. ft., 2 acres, workshop (aka: a real garage with space for at least 2 lifts), etc., not to mention that it sold for $525k 4 years ago and is now being foreclosed on for $213k. I immediately contact my realtor (friend of my parents from college), he gives me the code to the house, and my brother and I go check it out. It's great, except for massive amounts of wallpaper

.

Yesterday (Monday), I get in contact with my realtor again. He says he'll write up a contract and that I need to get back in contact with a lender. So, I get in contact with a guy who does FHA Loans (low down payment loans from the Federal Govt.). I send him all of my paper work (W2s from 2007 & 2008, Paystubs for the last month, and two months worth of bank statements).

Today, I call the FHA Loan guy back and he informs me that my credit score is 677 and that I have too much debt...sound familiar? So, I ask him what debt do I have...low and behold, the credit card is STILL FUCKING ON THERE!!! Not to mention my credit score has suffered 18 points in a month. By this time, I am beyond livid. I hang up with the guy and immediately call USAA. I give the USAA guy an earfull, demanding an answer as to why my name was not taken off of the card a month ago when I first requested. He gave me some BS about not having any record of it. So, I asked to be taken off of it again, and now have to wait another two weeks (10 business days) for it to go through.

Now, I am stuck...I have a feeling someone else will buy this house right out from under my nose, and my credit is going further and further down the hole while this credit card is still on my report.

Cliff Notes: Mom screwed my credit and USAA fails at following directions.

**c5z28** · 07-28-2009, 10:11 AM

If you know your mom is bad with credit why would you share a credit card with her?

***SMWS6TA*** · 07-28-2009, 10:11 AM

Beware, your credit is going to take another ding for closing the account.

**ls1camino** · 07-28-2009, 10:12 AM

Originally Posted by c5z28

If you know your mom is bad with credit why would you share a credit card with her?

I wasn't aware she was going to use it.

Originally Posted by SMWS6TA

Beware, your credit is going to take another ding for closing the account.

God damn it...

***SMWS6TA*** · 07-28-2009, 10:16 AM

Closing the account effects your credit to debt ratio. It may improve it however a majority of the time it bites you in the ass. 3 yrs ago I paid off alot of extra credit cards and loans that I had at the time, after I bought my house I took a HUGE ding in my score. It takes way too long to raise it back up. Today I have only 2 credit cards and I keep a low amount on each. Also glad I did it in today's economy...

**00LS12LS6Z28** · 07-28-2009, 10:22 AM

Ask your mom to transfer the balance to one of her cards and close it....or have her pay it off and then close it. If USAA is reluctant to take your name off the card, those are your options. Unless you want to pay it off.....Still your credit won't get better for awhile, but it looks like they are more concerned about the debt.

**War Theory** · 07-28-2009, 10:24 AM

damn dude that blows.....but i know what u mean last thursday i was going to get a moligram and this doctor looks me in the eye and say's the worst thing that can happen is a minor headache for 2 day.......fast forward today i can't stand due to the worst headache in my life turns out my spin is leaking so thats causing my brain to bob like an apple in a bucket with a hole letting the water out get rushed 2 er for 2 iv's and need 2 rest of my feet for 20 day btw i am moving this friday 14 hour drive ahead of me ........

**Mean Green Z28** · 07-28-2009, 10:32 AM

F the credit card companies! I called CapitolOne and put my wife on there as a point of contact just in case there was an emergency and she needed to speak to them and a few months later, it appeared on her credit report as a debt on her credit. Seems they automatically put her as liable even though I haven't even put her on as a second user. Called and yelled at them and got her taken off credit and only as a authorized person to talk to. Need to check the report in a couple months again to see if they actually did do it.

It's the same with having an additional card from my mother. She's responsible and pays on time/etc. but gave me a second card just for emergencies/etc. and that appeared on my credit report even though I'm not financially responsible for the payments/bills. I was like F that! but they refuse to stop reporting it as a "personal debt to me" until my mum pays the full balance amount and shuts down the account. F'd up!

**JHayesLS1** · 07-28-2009, 10:37 AM

They wouldn't give you a loan for a home with only 5k worth of debt?? Damn my old roommate just bought a home for 200k and he has about 12k worth of revolving account debt.

**ls1blackbeauty98** · 07-28-2009, 10:48 AM

i have to say this, usually when two people's name are on a credit card, you cannot get your name off of the account without paying the balance. unless you were just an authorized user which from the sounds of it you weren't because it's on your credit, so they cant just take your name off the credit card. and no offense but i doubt that a credit card would be the only thing holding you back from a house, if the only debt you have is a credit card, then you would prob. make enough money to not have "to much debt" get where I'm going with this? And if it is the credit card, its not just the debt load, its the fact that the bills werent paid on time, if you cant pay a credit card on time... how could you pay a monthly mortgage payment? atleast that's what the creditor will be thinking....

i am fully supportive of your idea trying to buy a house right now because if you have the money this is the TIME to buy, BUT (catch 22 here) if you dont have pretty damn good credit (and by good these days im meaning high 700s, low 800s) then you're less likely to be given a loan, unless you make some SERIOUS cash and your debt to income is so low, they can't pass you by. see where I'm going with this thought?

People are having trouble getting 5k loans right now, or even opening up new credit cards and thats why our economy is so bad because this country was built and is based off of credit that no one can get anymore..see? why our housing market is down....

so while i think its awesome you're going after this purchase, i have to stop and give you some reality, you're 22? I doubt you even have enough credit to be considered for a purchase like a house...even when we werent in a credit crash. Please dont take offense to this either but to gain a 200k loan, you would need good credit and a good paying job together especially if you were to go and try to get it yourself which I assume you're doing...not married I'm assuming.

its an awesome deal, but it sounds like it's going to be a hard one to pull off
also- check on that credit card because i'm pretty sure if it's showing on your credit you can't just "take your name off of it" they will want the balance, then they will close it, then it will take another 30 days (atleast) to get off your credit, whoever said 10 days.....was bullshiting you. good luck

**!!!FAST!!!** · 07-28-2009, 11:05 AM

Originally Posted by War Theory

damn dude that blows.....but i know what u mean last thursday i was going to get a moligram and this doctor looks me in the eye and say's the worst thing that can happen is a minor headache for 2 day.......fast forward today i can't stand due to the worst headache in my life turns out my spin is leaking so thats causing my brain to bob like an apple in a bucket with a hole letting the water out get rushed 2 er for 2 iv's and need 2 rest of my feet for 20 day btw i am moving this friday 14 hour drive ahead of me ........

Huh?

**hoosierSS02** · 07-28-2009, 11:19 AM

I'm surprised you are having any difficulty with the FHA loan, I am currently in the process of being approved for good by the underwriters on a house I'm buying, and when they were talking about the guidelines for being FHA, they sounded pretty lax overall. My credit score is 644 and I have about $4k in credit card bills, and I am supposively going to be an "easy approve" for an FHA according to my guy (prolly just jinxed the hell out of myself).

I know what you mean about possibly not being able to buy the house before someone else does... I put in offers on 2 houses, both that had been on the market less than a week when I put the offer in, and they both already had offers! The 2nd time I pretty much said f*** it and upped my offer to right below asking to lock it up. Apparentally the whole first time buyer $8000 credit is blowing the market up for people like me.

**knappbunch** · 07-28-2009, 11:27 AM

I am in the mortgage business and we look more ath the limit of the credit line then the actual ammount of debt. if the card was closed it will adversly affect your credit. If you pay the accouynt down and leave it open that would be better. just pay it down to get your debt to income ratio down.

**krese** · 07-28-2009, 11:31 AM

Originally Posted by ls1blackbeauty98

unless you were just an authorized user which from the sounds of it you weren't because it's on your credit

10000000% FALSE! i made my wife an authorized user on my cards after we got married a few months ago and they are showing up on her score just as hers are showing up on my score. do a google search on "authorized user credit report" and you will see the facts on this.

Originally Posted by ls1blackbeauty98

whoever said 10 days.....was bullshiting you. good luck

this is true. once you have the negative score it is not going away for 7 years.

**allbaugh_04** · 07-28-2009, 11:35 AM

Can't you get your mom to cosign the loan since she was so nice to screw you over?

**JHayesLS1** · 07-28-2009, 11:42 AM

Originally Posted by allbaugh_04

Can't you get your mom to cosign the loan since she was so nice to screw you over?

Not trying to be judgemental but judging from her revolving debt she probably doesnt have the greatest credit.

**Mean Green Z28** · 07-28-2009, 11:51 AM

Originally Posted by krese

10000000% FALSE! i made my wife an authorized user on my cards after we got married a few months ago and they are showing up on her score just as hers are showing up on my score. do a google search on "authorized user credit report" and you will see the facts on this.

this is true. once you have the negative score it is not going away for 7 years.

exactly what I described on my post 'cos I was an authorized user of my mum's card

**allbaugh_04** · 07-28-2009, 12:29 PM

Originally Posted by JHayesLS1

Not trying to be judgemental but judging from her revolving debt she probably doesnt have the greatest credit.

Well some people do very well, but forget to pay bills. She might also have collateral....Just throwing out the idea.

**ls1blackbeauty98** · 07-28-2009, 12:44 PM

Originally Posted by krese

10000000% FALSE! i made my wife an authorized user on my cards after we got married a few months ago and they are showing up on her score just as hers are showing up on my score. do a google search on "authorized user credit report" and you will see the facts on this.

this is true. once you have the negative score it is not going away for 7 years.

good luck with the wife on the credit card?

**ls1blackbeauty98** · 07-28-2009, 12:47 PM

Originally Posted by krese

10000000% FALSE! i made my wife an authorized user on my cards after we got married a few months ago and they are showing up on her score just as hers are showing up on my score. do a google search on "authorized user credit report" and you will see the facts on this.

this is true. once you have the negative score it is not going away for 7 years.

my point is that you cannot just list her name, she becomes an authorized user and its on her credit, you HAD to of given them some more information otherwise, it wouldnt be on her credit. They had to of had her social to put it on the credit, otherwise how can they go just on a name? thats what im saying.... if you can explain how that works great because if you say i want jane smith as an authorized user....well im sure there are more then one jane smith's in the US am i making any sort of sense?