Taking out an equity loan. Credit Score impications??
So I am taking out an Equity line of credit on my home. I purchased this house for 27,850 2 years ago in all cash. I rent out the basement and am still currently finishing up the top floor. After much sweat equity and cash dumped into it the house appraises for 88,000. I have put roughly 25,000 in reno work into the house(well, with gobs of help from my dad who contracted for 20 years). My question is about my credit. My credit score is young and not very good. I have a credit card that has been near max for a while because when I was younger I maxed it out and haven't been able to pay it off. My credit score is way below a 700 mark.
My questions is: I read a post about how to fix your credit and it said never withdrawal more than 30% of any line of credit. If I use this equity loan to pay off my credit card and a few other debts and (the initial reason for looking at this type of loan) purchase a car, will it help my credit score out at all if I leave at least 40% of the usable credit line available? I plan on selling the house before the 10 year note is up and just paying off the loan. But what are some suggestions here?
I love BP. I am an aspiring real estate investor here in SE Missouri, I just need to re-establish a good foothold on my finances and believe I am mature enough to do so. I am about to graduate and have a good job in insurance and continuously have my basement rented out so I don't ever plan on digging myself a hole once I'm out of this one. Any advice is greatly appreciated!