Yes, indeed. Not long ago, creditors sized up a prospective loan applicant by applying the four C's. They looked for Collateral, judged the applicant’s Character, weighed the borrower’s Creditworthiness, and determined the applicant’s Capacity to repay.
Today, looser lending standards are found in many borrowing situations. Car dealers who once gave you 24 to 36 months to repay now stretch payments out for 60 to 72 months, and cash down payments are being reduced or eliminated. Home buyers now often need less than 5% down.
It is important to remember, however, that just because the number of credit cards you have may not stop you from obtaining a loan, you need to be able to handle the amount of debt you carry. In addition, having more than two or three credit cards may hurt your credit score because you'll appear "credit heavy" to lenders.
Having a minimal number of cards but using them in a steady but judicious manner is all that’s needed to build a good credit rating. Having too many cards may result in denial of credit if you already have a big credit debt. Even if you don’t, the amount of available credit may cause potential creditors to turn you down. So trim back to two or three cards at the most.
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