Mortgage Question

Do student loans count as "bad credit"? Also, if you've had credit issues in the past, I read that if its been 7 years ormore, they can't take that into account if you apply for a mortgage. Is that only true if its paid off?

Re: Mortgage Question

I heard student loans don't count but I am not sure because I haven't applied for a mortgage yet!!

Re: Mortgage Question

Student loans don't count--My credit score & my husbands were very similar and I have $120,000 in school loans. As for past credit problems I am not sure.

Re: Mortgage Question

I ususally just lurk on the home board - i usually post on LIW - but I think I can help on this one. I underwrite commerical loans, so I look at alot of credit reports for the owners of the company.

As long as you pay on time, no debt is really "bad debt". Debt that has a negative effect on your credit score would be debt from places that are the debt consolidation places (except for student loans).

Bankruptcys stay on your report for 7 years. And slow pays usually stay on for about 4 years. Late payments over 30 days count - so if you were 90 days late on three credit cards two years ago yes it will show up and will hurt you.

Also, the ratio of your total credit limits on revolving credit vs. the balances is a factor. If you have 10K in limits combined, and have $9K in debt, then you only have 10% available, which is not very good.

I would suggest ordering a credit report from experian, pay the extra $$ for the FICO score, and make sure EVERYTHING is correct. BC if there is something there that shouldnt be, it may take awhile to fix.

HTH