Q: We are planning to apply for a mortgage soon. We have three credit cards that we never use anymore, so we are planning to close the accounts. Would closing the accounts now improve our chances of getting a home loan in a month or two?

A: No. In fact, closing the unused credit-card accounts now could temporarily lower your credit score and hurt your ability to get a mortgage at the best interest rate.

Mortgage lenders favor loan applicants who show a steady, predictable pattern of handling their credit-card accounts and other debts. If you suddenly close the long-dormant accounts today, you’ll break the pattern that you’ve set during the past several years, and your credit score will decline.

Closing the accounts now could also hurt your chances of getting a mortgage later because it would increase your debt-to-credit-limit ratio – the figure that represents the percentage of available credit that you have actually used. Lenders prefer borrowers with low debt ratios, but closing the accounts now would push your personal ratio higher.

Because of these factors, it would be better to close the accounts after you apply for a mortgage – not before.

Q: My home loan was recently sold to another bank. I have had a $2,500 deductible on my homeowners insurance policy for several years, but the new lender has sent me a letter stating that the policy must be changed so I that have only a $1,000 deductible. Reducing the deductible to $1,000 will add almost $200 to my annual insurance premiums. Can the new bank force me to make this change?

A: Yes, the bank has the legal right to demand that your deductible be lowered, even though the change will raise the cost of your homeowners insurance.

Most lenders follow the standards set by both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which together own more than half of all mortgages in the nation. The two quasi-government agencies require the deductible for homeowners’ insurance to be no more than $1,000 or 1 percent of the total insurance coverage – whichever is greater.

Fannie and Freddie demand such low deductibles because they’re afraid that homeowners who suffer a loss from a fire or other calamity won’t have enough cash to repair their property.

You could certainly consider refinancing with a different lender that doesn’t follow such stringent rules, but the upfront cost of getting a new loan (coupled with the higher interest rate you would probably be charged) would likely be far higher than the $200 or so you’d pay to keep your current loan and reduce your deductible to the required $1,000 limit.

As an alternative, you might consider simply increasing your total insurance coverage. If your policy is worth at least $250,000, you could keep your current $2,500 deductible and still meet the bank’s 1 percent rule – while also getting added protection if disaster strikes.

It typically costs less than $100 a year to add $50,000 in insurance, and the money you would save by keeping the higher deductible could help to pay for the increased coverage.

Talk to your insurance company or agent for more information.

– David W. Myers is a 20-year veteran of the newspaper and magazine business, having previously covered real estate for the Los Angeles Times and Investor’s Business Daily.