Bank of America Credit Requirement

[newkidontheblock]

We may be leasing a Lucid Air soon. I have heard mixed things about Bank of America leasing requirement.
Do they look at Credit Scores or Fico Scores or both?
Your answers will help me determine who will be on the lease.
We have no debt. We do have credit cards that we pay in full.
When we got married a long time ago I added my spouse as an additional credit card holder.
So she has not had a credit card in her own name for 18 years.
I checked her credit scores with three agencies and they were 822, 822, 822
She signed up for myfico and her score was only 739, This was because she has no debt and is not utilizing any credit cards where she is the primary card holder.
I looked at my 3 agency credit scores and they were not great(725, 720, 725). I have no debt, I have credit cards we use as a family. We spend a lot of money each month and pay our bills in full each month.
Five years ago I had a rental property where we were paying mortgage via automatic payments. the loan got sold and automatic payment stopped. We missed 2 payments and 30-60 days.
With 30 years of credit history, 2 late payments more than 5 years ago and no debt my Fico score is only 753.

In general Leasees should not pay any down payments. I have no interest in buying an EV. I paid cash for my Model Y and I learned my lesson.
Based on this information should I or my wife apply for the lease? we can make the entire lease payments upfront. This is called one payment lease. This is not an option with Lucid and BoA.

 

[HC_79]

I’m not sure what one they use but if 720 is the lowest score I’d be surprised if you’re not offered decent lease rates. Usually 720+ is classed as excellent.

The scoring system in this country is so stupid. You get punished for having no debt and then you’re punished for having too much debt (the latter is fair but the former isn’t). I paid off a loan once and was excited to see my score go up but instead it dropped by 20 points. Like seriously, wtf!

 

[newkidontheblock]

Here is the strange part. Our bank is telling me that my Fico score is 793. I signed up for a free plan with myfico.com and they say it is 753. I remember paying off our mortgage 5 years ago and our score dropped.

 

[hydbob]

I’m not sure what one they use but if 720 is the lowest score I’d be surprised if you’re not offered decent lease rates. Usually 720+ is classed as excellent.

The scoring system in this country is so stupid. You get punished for having no debt and then you’re punished for having too much debt (the latter is fair but the former isn’t). I paid off a loan once and was excited to see my score go up but instead it dropped by 20 points. Like seriously, wtf!

No debt means you aren't using credit...makes sense to me!

 

[chris]

I ended up paying cash for my Lucid because BankONE rejected me for approval on a lease despite having an 824 FICO credit score at the time. They also did 2 (not 1 but 2) hard inquires and then lowered my credit score down to 752 where it stayed for a few months before moving back up. Mortgage was paid off-- last car loan paid off November 2019 and no balance carried on credit cards (paid in full every month) so they didn't like how I used my credit? Either way, I was a reject and found it to be a bit of a joke but it is what it is.

 

[translux]

Credit is complex business, I believe intentionally so.
You have essentially the following factors: different scoring models, credit bureaus, and the type of credit score.
While they’re all part of the mix it’s the last one-type of credit score-that will ultimately matter.
If you have expanded access to your scores you’ll see that based on what the credit is for different models are used.
I believe Vantage score 3 & 4 are used most often for car purchases and leases. But there’s many more.
There’s also several counterintuitive outliers that can be factors.
The one that always boggles my mind is lack of recent financing history and no debt. But I think it’s as simple as they can’t make money from interest on these buyers.
My parents with scores into the 800’s, many active credit cards but with no appreciable debt for the last couple of decades were initially denied the best financing options on a recent car purchase. They’re old school/ wiser than me with $ and wanted to wire the $ but I had convinced them if they could get cheap money it was better to keep their investments working for them vs buying outright. After submitting some financial statements they were approved.
BTW save for the high-end market where there’s more $ in the profit of the vehicle most dealers don’t want cash buyers as they make $ on the financing even when it 0%.
In the end Lucid wants to sell cars and banks want to loan $.
Given your described situation I don’t think you’ll have any issues.

 

[BillHartman67]

I just went through this myself.

They use Experian (see below).
I was very confused by the 882/900 credit score.

Finance advisor explained that this is an Auto Credit score unique to Experian.

I used my wife only as her credit was showing 845 FICO. Mine was 780 with a large bill that hadn’t been paid yet.

 

[TGO]

I just went through the exact same thing leasing my Air Pure. I also wanted a one payment lease and they wouldn’t do it. With what you stated your lease should be approved by BOA. As I’m retired and have no debt and low income and high balances on my credit cards that I pay in full each month.

 

[translux]

This is yet another aspect Lucid needs to work out in their sales prevention department. There’s a ton of banks that are hungry for business. I’m only speculating but this could be an early indication of banks tightening things up on anticipation of near term financial downturn.

 

[newkidontheblock]

Given our situation should both I and my wife be on the lease application? She has higher credit score and I have higher FICO score.

 

[BillHartman67]

Given our situation should both I and my wife be on the lease application? She has higher credit score and I have higher FICO score.

each situation is different.

My wife works and makes good $.

My credit score was low because I had $30k on a CC that I hadn’t paid off yet.

Having us both on the application didn’t help as my wife’s income alone was more than enough for the payment.

Lucid application is looking for 800+ FICO. Whoever has 800+ and can easily afford the monthly (say less than 20% of take home) should be on the application. If you cannot get the monthly below the 20% it might help to have both on.

But remember they are going to run a hard credit pull and damage your credit with the inquiry. So maybe you don’t want both.

The application is also look at your other expenses (Rent, mortgage, taxes, etc) you want your total expenses below 50% of take home pay.

Talk to Lucid finance they are very helpful.

So someone does jump all over the above, IMHO.

 

[newkidontheblock]

each situation is different.

My wife works and makes good $.

My credit score was low because I had $30k on a CC that I hadn’t paid off yet.

Having us both on the application didn’t help as my wife’s income alone was more than enough for the payment.

Lucid application is looking for 800+ FICO. Whoever has 800+ and can easily afford the monthly (say less than 20% of take home) should be on the application. If you cannot get the monthly below the 20% it might help to have both on.

But remember they are going to run a hard credit pull and damage your credit with the inquiry. So maybe you don’t want both.

The application is also look at your other expenses (Rent, mortgage, taxes, etc) you want your total expenses below 50% of take home pay.

Talk to Lucid finance they are very helpful.

So someone does jump all over the above, IMHO.

It is a bit complicated.
Both of us can afford the payment on our own income.
My Fico score is higher but my wife's credit score is higher. Her fico score is lower as she has been an additional card member on my card since we got married.
We have no mortgage or loans. Taxes are very low. I am currently utilizing 10% of my credit card limits. I may pay it all off if it helps. I was told by my advisor that credit is pulled from experian and equifax.

 

[translux]

You may be over thinking this. And I feel your pain as I did the same thing. I don’t take rejection of any kind well!

Based on the info you’ve given you both should qualify as the leases are low risks for the banks due to low payment vs value of the of the car.
The only thing that could be at play here and creating issues is the a new unproven brand in an unproven segment. But who’s knows.
You should be able to see detailed scoring models. The middle tier MyFico subscription shows detailed scores. Pay for a month then cancel.
Whoever has the highest FICO 8, 9 or it mights just be called Auto should apply.

 

[newkidontheblock]

You may be over thinking this. And I feel your pain as I did the same thing. I don’t take rejection of any kind well!

Based on the info you’ve given you both should qualify as the leases are low risks for the banks due to low payment vs value of the of the car.
The only thing that could be at play here and creating issues is the a new unproven brand in an unproven segment. But who’s knows.
You should be able to see detailed scoring models. The middle tier MyFico subscription shows detailed scores. Pay for a month then cancel.
Whoever has the highest FICO 8, 9 or it mights just be called Auto should apply.

Thanks for the suggestion. I will upgrade to higher tier of myfico for a month. I will use a debit card to make the 1 month payment so my credit score is not lowered further

 

[newkidontheblock]

We have submitted our lease application. I will not start selling my model Y until our application has been approved.

 

[BillHartman67]

We have submitted our lease application. I will not start selling my model Y until our application has been approved.

Let us know how it goes?

Did you use a referral code? Upto $1250 off.

 

[newkidontheblock]

Yes I did use a referral code.

We submitted our application and it says that they need more information. They will be in touch. Perhaps it is proof of income or something similar.
We will see.

 

[newkidontheblock]

I submitted both me and my wife for financing. I was told by Lucid finance person that it would be better if only my wife is on the application.
Once I updated our financing application it only took a few minutes to get approved.

We don't borrow and finance often. So this was stressful. I did not apply for financing over the weekend. Finally today I decided to move forward.
Hoping to pick up the car soon. I will view the checklist for delivery.

Thanks everyone for your help.

 

[Electrified]

Here is the strange part. Our bank is telling me that my Fico score is 793. I signed up for a free plan with myfico.com and they say it is 753. I remember paying off our mortgage 5 years ago and our score dropped.

FICO is what banks use, Credit Karma uses Vantage which is weird as it's always 30-40 points lower than FICO, of course Credit Karma is always trying to sell some credit product.

 

[Bucket323]

We may be leasing a Lucid Air soon. I have heard mixed things about Bank of America leasing requirement.
Do they look at Credit Scores or Fico Scores or both?
Your answers will help me determine who will be on the lease.
We have no debt. We do have credit cards that we pay in full.
When we got married a long time ago I added my spouse as an additional credit card holder.
So she has not had a credit card in her own name for 18 years.
I checked her credit scores with three agencies and they were 822, 822, 822
She signed up for myfico and her score was only 739, This was because she has no debt and is not utilizing any credit cards where she is the primary card holder.
I looked at my 3 agency credit scores and they were not great(725, 720, 725). I have no debt, I have credit cards we use as a family. We spend a lot of money each month and pay our bills in full each month.
Five years ago I had a rental property where we were paying mortgage via automatic payments. the loan got sold and automatic payment stopped. We missed 2 payments and 30-60 days.
With 30 years of credit history, 2 late payments more than 5 years ago and no debt my Fico score is only 753.

In general Leasees should not pay any down payments. I have no interest in buying an EV. I paid cash for my Model Y and I learned my lesson.
Based on this information should I or my wife apply for the lease? we can make the entire lease payments upfront. This is called one payment lease. This is not an option with Lucid and BoA.

They look at your FICO Auto Score 8, you can see it on experian.com