Comments on: Why would we be turned down for a credit card when we just passed a credit check for a mortgage refinance?

By: Michael T

Michael T — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 15:55:29 +0000

Currently the better credit cards are requiring a pretty high credit score of maybe 750 or better plus certain ratios where as a mortgage refinance can usually be acquired with a credit score of less than 700. However, a bank will look at more than your credit score but may require at least 20% equity remaining after the refinance, maximum front and back end debt ratios, as well as other criteria.

Banks are no longer using the same criteria that they were using a couple of years ago when people were obtaining more credit than could reasonably be expected to pay back.

By: David Z

David Z — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 07:53:29 +0000

credit card company sees you are borrowing a lot under mortgage loan so they are will back off for a while. you are or will be taking on a big new loan and it scared them a little.

By: Ted

Ted — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 01:05:37 +0000

The two things don’t have anything to do with each other.

You don’t say why you got turned down for the card. The card company was required to tell you why they turned you down.

The mortgage company is going to be mainly interested in how much equity you have in your house. Because you are pledging a house as collateral, and with a card, you are giving no collateral, the two lenders will tend to look at things differently.

By: overnightdeejay

overnightdeejay — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 15:15:24 +0000

you say your reports were fine, but what was the score?

just because you didnt see anything wrong doesn;t mean the bank will see it it the same way…

Banks are in very deep trouble these days with the government, and are cracking down on loan applications, anything out of place and you will be denied…

It may be possible that the credit card was declined because of the cards balances you were trying to pay off,

Focus on getting the refi done, and then in a few months then try again for the new card.

By: Tony

Tony — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 08:00:51 +0000

You could have been turned down by the credit card company because a) you have too high debt to income (DTI) ratio, b) you have had too many hits on your credit (too many inquiries in a short amount of time, c) unsatisfactory repayment history and/or d) the credit card company is not accepting any new requests for credit. By law, credit card companies are required to disclose why they turned you down. I think that because you have a bank account with your lender, you are more likely able to to secure the loan and get a good rate doing so. I wouldn’t worry about your loan necessarily – the only reason why they would turn you down is if you have unsatisfactory credit history and/or 30 or more days late on payments.

Good luck.

By: Gary B

Gary B — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 05:49:31 +0000

Credit cards are “unsecured” — they can’t (usually) repossess anything you buy. Therefore, their rules for acceptance are different for credit cards than for mortgages.

Mortgages, on the other hand, are “secured” — you don’t pay your mortgage, they foreclose the house. Either way, the mortgage company wins.

You should be fine with the mortgage, but it was not a terribly intelligent move to try to get a credit card while trying to open a mortgage. GET the mortgage first, THEN worry about getting credit cards.