New Rules Will Make It Harder to Get a Mortgage If You Carry a Credit Card Balance

Starting June 25 Fannie Mae introduces new rules to make it harder to get a mortgage if you carry a credit card balance. Basically, the new guidelines use trended credit data as a rating system to evaluate borrower’s ability to manage revolving credit card accounts. “A borrower who uses revolving accounts conservatively (low revolving credit utilization and/or regular payoff of revolving balance) will be considered a lower risk. A borrower whose revolving credit utilization is high and/or who only makes the minimum monthly payment each month will be considered higher risk as it indicates the borrower may have trouble making payments in the future.” Kristin Wong on Lifehacker points out that “if you pay your balances in full every month, you’re probably good. If you have a revolving balance, you’re considered a risk, and depending on how much debt you’re revolving, it could prevent you from getting a loan.” (lifehacker.com)