To obtain a good home loan, there are two determining factors. The first factor is your combined income, which determines how much a bank will lend you. Whether you're a single or a married couple, your gross yearly income is the most important factor when applying for a home loan. The other factor is how much you owe on your existing debts. Assume you have three or four credit cards with a combined limit of $50,000 or $70,000, and then two personal loans that are consuming all of your borrowing capacity. Your borrowing capacity will drop because all of your debts are treated as a very high risk. For example, credit cards with a limit of $10,000 will reduce your borrowing capacity for a home loan close to $70,000. When the earnings are not significant and you have a lot of prior personal debt, it is then having many credit cards becomes an issue.