Recommended "starter" credit cards?

Question

As of this second, my husband's credit score is about 615- for many years he had NO score because we lived by the theory that if you can't pay for it, don't get it. So we never had any credit cards, paid cash for our car.... Nothing.

But now we're looking into buying a home and the guy I spoke with from the mortgage company said if we get about 2-3 credit cards that we play our cards with right, we could be eligible for up to a 100% loan in a matter of 6 months to a year.

I managed for us to just get one, but I want to get at least one more and am having a hard time finding one that would approve us due to a limited credit history that doesn't have an insane yearly service fee or monthly fee. In case it helps with advice any, his yearly income is approximately 50,000 a year.

Anyone have advice on a company that has a decent "starter" card or any other tips for helping boost his credit just a tad more to help with a mortgage approval?

Answer 1

Two easy credit cards to get are Orchard Bank and First Premier Bank. I would try Capital One first, then those first two if they deny you.

Answer 2

I got my first credit card at age 18 - when I was a freshman in college (that was only 4 years ago). My limit was $500 and is now $1600 - due to paying on time, never going over the limit, etc . . . Having a credit card has been GREAT for me. I was able to get a car without a co-signer, passed a credit check for a rental property with ease and therefore was waived the application fees and hefty deposit, was approved for utilities in my name without putting down a $300 deposit, got student loans for law school without a co-signer, etc . . . HOWEVER, I was very disciplined with my credit card. I used it to only to buy necessities and always paid it back, pretty much in full, each statement. I was never late. I now have two credit cards and my interest rates on both are very small - 9% for one and 13% for the other. If you get a credit card, make sure you can handle the maximum limit (if you're a student, don't get a credit card with a $2000 limit) - which in turn represents your minimum monthly payment. Also, shop around and get a card that doesn't have annual/monthly fees and that has a low interest rate (<15% is awesome). Make sure you also are organized enough to remember when the bill is due and handle your finances appropriately.

Answer 3

I think that your mortgage company guy is novacained above the shoulders.

There are plenty of mortgages available to you right now, based on your income. If you haven't had credit cards, there's no need to start getting them now.

You don't want a 100% mortgage anyway. You want to put 10-20% down, and have an 80-ish% mortgage.

I suggest you visit Bank of America. They have all kinds of mortgage programs available...and for as long as you have your mortgage with them, you get all their other services for free, such as a free checking account, a free safe deposit box, free cashier's checks and money orders, free traveller's checks, and a Visa Debit Card that lets you access your money WITHOUT having to establish a credit card account.

Answer 4

Stay with the philosophy you've lived with. You're better off in the long run. Don't take advice from broke people. I bet the person who suggested you get two or three credit cards is not a millionaire.

I suggest a 20 percent down with a 15 year or less fixed rate that with a payment not to exceed 25 percent of your monthly take home.

Answer 5

You can start with maybe a gas card, such as Chevron. You can't use but at gas stations, and it is pretty good for helping with credit. You may also want to check out credit cards from Chase. They are pretty good and have excellent rates. I have had one since I was in college and it has worked well for me. They start you with low credit limit to begin with but as you continue with good credit they increase your limit accordingly. At anytime you feel that the limit is too high or don't want one that high, don't hesistate to call and ask for a lower limit. I did this when they increased me from 2 K to 6 K in a matter of months. I like to be credit smart. And having good credit helps with good rates.

I wouldn't recommend Discover or Bank of America. Have heard many bad things about them, but everyone's experience is different.

Do as much research on the type of card you are looking for and then make your decision. That's the best advice I can give. Hope this helps.

Answer 6

well there are a myriad of cards out there. you can find no annual fee cards and that is the way to go. There are rebate cards but read the fine print. don't get a credit card just because of a rewards program unless there is no limit, and tey give you cash. if you pay off your card every month you have the advantage of getting the card that looks out for you the most. if you don't then look to get a card with a low apr

Answer 7

If your goal is to get a mortgage, you don't have to accumulate more debt to do that!

If you and your husband have been paying your bills on time, you can qualify for a prime mortgage through PRBC, America's Alternative Credit Bureau. PRBC helps people build a credit file using non-debt payments that are NOT reported to the other bureaus. On-time payments for rent, phone, cable, gas, water, electric, cell phone, insurance, day care, self-storage, etc - don't get reported to the "Big Three."

But you can report those type of payments to PRBC and build a credit file that is accepted by major lenders and approved by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

You can sign up for free and enter all your basic account info for bills you've paid. When you're ready to move forward on a mortgage, you'll need to pay about $15 per account to have your past payments verified - this is so the lender knows the info is valid. Showing you've paid rent plus 3 other bills on time for 12 months can qualify you for a prime mortgage - and you can do it without having to build up more debt.

Check out the website here - http://prbc.com
The section about mortgages is here - http://prbc.com/consumers/how/mortgage.php

If you have any questions about this, feel free to email me.

Best of luck!

Answer 8

Credit Unions are the best and you can apply for a secure card to start and switch to a regular card after several months. Credit Unions work for their members and not stock holders.

Answer 9

i would recommend a card with an introductory rate of 0%. that way you can build your credit rating without being charged interest on your purchases. I think Citi cards has different cards at 0% for a certain period of time. Try Citicards.com. Chase.com also has cards at 0%.

Answer 10

bank of america has the best one.