The 5/24 rule almost cost me a home loan in Tulsa

I was shopping for a mortgage last spring and my lender mentioned something called the 5/24 rule from Chase. I had no idea that opening too many store cards, like the ones from Kohl's and Best Buy, could make you look risky to some banks. I had opened 3 cards in 12 months just for the discounts, and that pushed me over the limit. My mortgage guy said I had to wait or close some accounts, but closing them doesn't help your history. I ended up waiting two months and paying a slightly higher rate, which cost me about $1,800 over five years. Now I tell everyone to check how many new accounts they have before applying for anything big. Has anyone else been blindsided by this rule when they were trying to buy a house?

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irisowens11h ago

Learned that lesson the hard way when my Kohl's cash addiction basically nuked my credit score. Guess saving 30 percent on towels wasn't worth looking like a walking red flag to lenders.

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