topic So frustrated and Confused ... in Rebuilding Your Credit

So frustrated and Confused ...

DjWesley — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 01:26:27 GMT

I've started my credit building in January 2012, I've had no credit cards, home loans, or auto loans. Just a few delinquencies of other bills on my credit (phone, medical), I have paid them off by the end of January. I grabbed a 300.00 First Progress Secured card & a Capitol One 500.00 Secured card. I just recently in September applied for a Capitol one card and was approved for a 500 unsecured limit (SMH) ... My utilization is never above 30% .. It has been 10 months of great payments, low utilized card use.

I started off with a 602 from equifax 593 experian and 595 transunion ... Today, 10 months later, I'm at a whopping 615 respectively ... Someone please tell me what I'm doing wrong. I want to purchase a house this time next year, but the future is looking dismal... Thank you for your input in advance...

Re: So frustrated and Confused ...

mmmagique — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 01:29:51 GMT

You're not being patient. Building good credit takes time for most of us.

Yes, there are those whose numbers seem to grow exponentially, but for me, (and I'm sure for many others) it's many small steps (and small increases) that add up over time.

Re: So frustrated and Confused ...

nicholasyud — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 01:30:10 GMT

i dont know why your score slowly grow.....but letme ask you a question ? does your card report to all three credit bureaus ? because with both of those credit card company you had...they are very messy.......Check your credit report again and see if there some baddie on your report maybe some charge off or collection that you dont know ? .......

Re: So frustrated and Confused ...

nicholasyud — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 01:31:51 GMT

i just read your thread again...well those baddie is holding your score down.....paid them ASAP but only if the company agree to Pay for Delete.....and get it in paper before you paid them anything......

Re: So frustrated and Confused ...

Dustink — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 01:42:51 GMT

Those late payments are and will continue to hold your score down. Starting will bad credit is a lot harder than starting with no credit. You are just going to have to wait it out. It is going to take several years for your credit to grow.

I would recommend you open up a large secured card. Anything over $5,000 is good. If you can, open up a few of them. This will create some good credit lines on your credit report prior to the home purchase. Having a few low limit credit cards isn't going to help you much. You need to show the bank that you can handle large lines. Also, these lines might go unsecured around the time of your mortage. This will give you more money towards your down payment.

Re: So frustrated and Confused ...

SnackTrader — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 01:55:27 GMT

The above posters are right. Your late payments mean you are in rebuilding mode, and there aren't many things besides time that are going to help you out at this point.

Head on over to the rebuilding forums within MyFico http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/bd-p/rebuildingcredit and start reading up on some of the successful things others have done. Not everything will fit in your situation, but it should give you a good idea on the timeline for rebuilding and some of the good methods to bring your scores up.

Good luck!

Re: So frustrated and Confused ...

rootpooty — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 02:23:06 GMT

First things first. Where are you getting your scores from? You only listed your most recent score once where did you get that one from also? What was the reported util? What derogs do you have on your reports? If they are fairly new then yes it will take some time with age they will start to affect your score

Re: So frustrated and Confused ...

Jlu — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 02:32:33 GMT

you can accuse me of being an optimist but as somebody who has made the climb from the low 500's to the high 600's I can tell you that the 600 to 700 score range goes by much quicker than the 500 to 600 range.

But as the poster above me asked, where are you getting your score?

Re: So frustrated and Confused ...

youngandcreditwrthy — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 02:33:59 GMT

You're just going to have to build it and ALWAYS pay on time. Make sure you manage your debt/finances effectively. Your credit score is a direct consequence of your financial actions/obligations. In 6 mos to a year, you may try to open some GECRB store cards. If you want a mortgage, you can get an FHA loan with 3.5% down, I think. HOWEVER, if you cannot afford to put 20% down, you should wait.

Good luck... You're going to be at it awhile :-)

Re: So frustrated and Confused ...

Jlu — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 02:37:49 GMT

youngandcreditwrthy wrote:
You're just going to have to build it and ALWAYS pay on time. Make sure you manage your debt/finances effectively. Your credit score is a direct consequence of your financial actions/obligations. In 6 mos to a year, you may try to open some GECRB store cards. If you want a mortgage, you can get an FHA loan with 3.5% down, I think. HOWEVER, if you cannot afford to put 20% down, you should wait.

Good luck... You're going to be at it awhile :-)

Wow its 3.5% now? That's like $10k on a $300k house.. I think I put more than that down when I financed my car.

Re: So frustrated and Confused ...

DjWesley — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 02:41:50 GMT

I pay Equifax.com to pull up my score of all three... I also have the score on this site (which always seems 30 points higher that the other 3 ... ) I don't have the means right now to get a 5000.00 CC. I am holding 3 CC with a total limit of 1300.00 that of which i have about 25% utilized ... I had a Bank of America CC from 5- years ago that went to collections @ 1300.00 .. I paid it in full (in January) ... I've called BOA and the 3 agencies and can't get them to remove it ... It shows paid in full, but still shows up as a negative collections on my credit reports.... It's so deflating to spend hours upon hours to rebuild and mend and send letters to agencies for the greater good of finacial independence, and all I have to show after 10 months is a score raise of around 15 points...

Re: So frustrated and Confused ...

Jlu — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 03:01:14 GMT

Pay for a FICO. You are wasting money on a fake score.

Re: Frustrated with no real progress on score...

jamie123 — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 03:21:08 GMT

Paying off old debt does ABSOLUTELY nothing to your scores. You need to have old collections and charge offs REMOVED from your reports. The way to do this is by writing PFD (Pay For Delete) and GW(Good Will) letters to your lenders.

You can find out how to to this on the REBUILDING YOUR CREDIT forum.

It really isn't too difficult to do and after you do the first one it becomes easy. You need to do this if you want your scores to improve.

Good luck!

Re: So frustrated and Confused ...

Dustink — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 03:30:57 GMT

DjWesley wrote:
I pay Equifax.com to pull up my score of all three... I also have the score on this site (which always seems 30 points higher that the other 3 ... ) I don't have the means right now to get a 5000.00 CC. I am holding 3 CC with a total limit of 1300.00 that of which i have about 25% utilized ... I had a Bank of America CC from 5- years ago that went to collections @ 1300.00 .. I paid it in full (in January) ... I've called BOA and the 3 agencies and can't get them to remove it ... It shows paid in full, but still shows up as a negative collections on my credit reports.... It's so deflating to spend hours upon hours to rebuild and mend and send letters to agencies for the greater good of financial independence, and all I have to show after 10 months is a score raise of around 15 points...

I feel the high limit secured card is the best way to go.

If you want to be in a position to buy and keep a house. You should first be in a position that putting $5,000 away for a year won't impact you. In reality it should be more like $15k, because it would be good to have 3 cards. That $15k will help with unexpected costs associated with the house and/or a downpayment. Once you are in a position to do so and then go until the cards become unsecured, I think you will be able to buy a house. While the cards are building credit, save up your 20% down.

_______________________________

The process without the high limit secured cards is still possible, it will just take a bit longer. You will need to keep building credit. Apply for a card with the bank that you have the most active checking account with. Get a low limit low tier card. Use it and pay in full for six months. Then ask for a credit limit increase. After another six months of paying in full. Apply for another card with your bank, one that is slightly higher tier. You may also apply for one other card with another institution known for average credit individuals. As usual pay in full and garden the cards for another 6 months, then ask for CLI. After another 6 months. Apply for another card. Then tend to the cards for another 6 months paying in full. Do this until you have atleast 3 cards with limits over $5,000. Keep those cards in good standing for a year. During this year do not get any more HP's on your credit profile. A month or two prior to your mortgage application, get your credit utilization between 1-5% and keep it there until your loan is funded. During this whole process, build up as much for a down payment as possible. At least 20% plus closing and repair cost, more would be better. Also, build up an emergency fund to cover yourself during a time of lost employment. This will help prevent you from losing your house later on.

Re: So frustrated and Confused ...

jd5189 — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 03:36:20 GMT

The Delinquencies - Your fico score is 35% payment history... see if you can get the lates removed. How old are the lates?

Re: Frustrated with no real progress on score...

nicholasyud — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 14:02:08 GMT

jamie123 wrote:
Paying off old debt does ABSOLUTELY nothing to your scores. You need to have old collections and charge offs REMOVED from your reports. The way to do this is by writing PFD (Pay For Delete) and GW(Good Will) letters to your lenders.

You can find out how to to this on the REBUILDING YOUR CREDIT forum.

It really isn't too difficult to do and after you do the first one it becomes easy. You need to do this if you want your scores to improve.

Good luck!

I agree with Jamie.......GW them like crazy.......different adress diff department CEO......etc..........don't give up.........the baddie holding your score down buddie