It now pays to pay down those balances... NEW YORK – Oct. 27, 2016 – Applying for a home loan? You may want to consider paying off your credit card bill first. Thanks to a recent change by major credit rating agencies, mortgage lenders can now look at whether you pay off your bill every month or keep a balance. That means homebuyers who pay off their credit cards may earn an advantage when looking for a mortgage. Historically lenders reviewed basic information such as your total debt and whether you were on-time with your payments when deciding whether to make a home loan. But they didn't know whether you were paying off your credit card or other revolving debts in full or carrying a balance month-to-month. That changed in September, when two of the major credit rating agencies, Equifax and Transunion, began offering what's known as "trending data." Lenders now have access to a more comprehensive view of a borrower's debt management habits, spec