Mortgage Navigator • Conventional • Credit & AUS

Authorized-user tradelines

Being an authorized user can help build credit, but AUS and manual underwriting do not treat the tradeline the same way.

Build My Mortgage Game Plan Conventional Navigator

Fannie DU

DU considers tradelines designated as authorized-user accounts as part of its credit-risk assessment. Fannie's current DU guidance says no additional investigation of the borrower's credit history is required unless DU instructs the lender otherwise.

Fannie manual underwriting

For manual underwriting, an authorized-user tradeline generally cannot be used in the underwriting decision unless another borrower owns the account, or the borrower documents being the actual and sole payer for at least the preceding 12 months. Fannie also has a rule when the account owner is the borrower's non-borrowing spouse.

Why this matters: advice such as “remove yourself from every authorized-user card before applying” is too simplistic. An AU account can be part of the AUS risk assessment, and changing it can alter the credit profile.

Official guide baseline

Fannie Mae Selling Guide · Freddie Mac Seller/Servicer Guide

Agency guide and AUS findings control over summaries. Lender and mortgage-insurer overlays may be more restrictive.