Hi all… i havent been on here for the longest… anyways, can someone please tell me does consolidating your debts affect your credit bad?.. i want to consoidate some credit cards and a loan i took out… im not really tryin 2 get a house or a loan anytime soon but i just wanted to know does it affect my credit bad and is it worth it…
thanks…
depends on the specifics of what credit lines you are paying off and what form of security the new loan is (home equity, etc?).
WOW… you just lost me… i didnt really get wat you was saying… well put it like this, how much points would it lower my credit score and would it pervent me from getting a loan in the future?
What I mean is it depends on specifically what debts you are paying off and what kind of loan you are taking out in order to pay off those debts. There are ways to re-structure your debt that will increase the score and ways to re-structure that will hurt it. Without knowing more specifics, it’s impossible to say if your score would go up or down.
oh ok i get it now… so bascially what you sayin is, its all depends on what type of loan i get 2 pay it off… cool, so you sayin that might wouldnt go down if i get the right type of loan… thats good to know…
No, what rbaxter is saying, is depending on what kind of debt you intend to pay off, like Credit Cards, student loans, car loans, it will either hurt or help your credit.
Also how you decide to consolidate will affect your credit score…say for example a consumer credit counseling agency is not going to help your credit, but on the other hand a HELOC would give you additional cashflow and isn’t going to hurt your credit as much.
oh ok… i hope it helps…
if you intend to pay off credit cards…pay them off but DO NOT CLOSE the account.
Reason being having a zero bal will show current everymonth on your credit report.
thanks for that info it was very help… so dont close the accounts even if i have live five credit cards accounts?
yes, pay them off and keep it open.
ok thanks…
amusedtwinkle
I was informed that if you keep open your cc it would in the long run affect your credit (negatively)…I work in collections in chase bnk.
Nope, until about 6 mos ago I also worked collectionsfor 6 yrs…(don’t hate me), when you close your acct it makes the acct go dead, so any current scores from that acct goes dead also …or makes it so it doesn’t count positively toward your credit score.
example…you have a credit card and you pay on time for 6 yrs and then pay off the card and close the acct, that 6 yrs that you paid on time will no longer reflect positively on your credit…in other words you just wasted 6 yrs of paying on time…
On the other hand if you have a credit card and pay on time for 6 yrs and then pay it off and just keep it open it will show you
1 having a current payments every MONTH, but also
2 show you have credit available…
3 shows you are reliable to make payments for whatever timeframe you’ve had that card…whether it’s 6 mos or 6 yrs…
In summary DO NOT CLOSE your accounts once you’ve paid them off…keep them open and at a zero bal…this will help your credit not hurt it.
thanks amusedtwinkle
Sadly i closed my accts becz of the bad info given to me…Im in the process of raising my credit scores so I can get better rates on properties…Collections at chase sux’s by the way.
Dont consolidate all onto one Credit card unless its going to be at least 50% below the credit limit (Preferably 30% or lower).
I think the best way to consolidate credit cards and a loan would be
Home equity line of credit. Ive been told this helps your credit. but sounds like your dont own a home?
Take out an unsecured loan from a bank if they will let you. (maybe use a vehicle or somehting to pledge as collateral for a lower interest rate)
Like everyone has said, do not close accounts. By having 5 open accounts with no balence, your score will definitly go up…im tyring to figure out how much it will go up.
I very strongly agree with black regarding credit, however, do not open 5 lines of credit at the same time…this will negatively impact your credit. If possible wait at least 3-6 months between every line of credit you open, this will give time for your score to stabilize…and remember pay on time.