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My bankruptcy was just discharged last week and I am wondering how long I should wait before attempting to apply for credit. I want to buy a house sometime in the next couple of years and I have heard that if you don't start rebuilding your credit right after your discharge that the process to get a mortgage could be substantial. Any advice or input regarding this is appreciated. The attorney gets the BK done but then I feel like I don't have the information to move forward and start rebuilding, the information he gave me was very vague.
I think the first thing you would want to do is get a copy of your reports and make sure everything is reporting properly as far as the accounts that were included in your BK. Then if all is good there you can start getting cards. Some get secured cards and some get unsecured cards to get things started. Was your BK a 7 or 13? This will make a difference on when you will be able to buy a house as well.
@ProudMomof5--Yes, secured cards DO work!!! I'm a firm believer!! My credit scores have increased 100 pts in the last 8 months and only using one secured card.
@softballgirl29 --Congrats on the discharge!! You've made it out of debtor's prison!! Depending on the rules of your trustee, you probably could have already started to rebuild your credit. It really would have depended on the state and county you're in and the rules of the trustee as some are MUCH, MUCH, stricter than others. I don't see any reason why you can't get started right away--you've completed your plan. As of when I filed (September 2009) in NC, permission was only required from the trustee when desiring to finance anything over 1K. Due to this, I was able to get a secured card without going to my trustee. I also received a packet of information from my lawyer, telling me that I could begin rebuilding credit immediately and ways to go about doing so. You can purchase a home while still in Chapter 13 with trustee permission after 12 consecutive (timely) payments. I was told by a lender that as soon as I received my discharge from Chapter 13, I can begin right away. Of course, YMMV. I'm choosing to wait so I don't have to jump through the extra hoops. Just crossing my fingers in hopes that I receive my discharge paperwork quickly!
I did pull a copy of my reports. The only thing not reporting correctly was my car that I reaffirmed. When I contacted Chase, which is the lender for my car, they said that because there is a recision period of 60-days that it will report that way until after Sept 14th. On Sept 15th they will be moving it out of the bankruptcy department and into regular customer service again. At that point it should start reporting correctly on my CR's. I filed a Ch7. Do you think I should wait until the car loan begins reporting correctly before applying for credit cards? Thanks for your info!!
It is so good to hear that secured cards DO work!!! So many people have said that I should hold out for unsecured but my feeling was if a secured card will help begin the rebuilding process faster then it would be worth it! I filed a CH7 and was told that it would probably be two years before I would qualify for a mortgage. I was lucky enough to sell my house before the bankruptcy so I do not have a foreclosure or bk for any previous mortgages. Also, I reaffirmed my car loan since it is almost paid off with the hopes that it would be a good line of credit and help re-establish faster. I
I hope you receive your discharge paperwork soon!!!! Keep me posted and thank you so much for all your information!
@luvmeirahbug, which secured card are you using? I noticed that when I filed my Chapter 13 that my car company stopped reporting on my credit report. They completely deleted the account from all three. I spoke to someone and he told me to ask them to put it back on there since it is still getting paid through my 13. I'm wondering would it help or hurt me if I did that because I had a few lates on there from over a year ago.
@SoftballGirl - Do not wait on your car to start reporting. Use the Capital One Preapproval to see if they will approve you for a card. You will not take a hit until you actually apply. Make sure it gives you an offer and does not say, "No offer but we suggest". I will rank in order the cards you should try. Be warned that you may have to "pay" for credit but they have a high approval rate. Do not try for others unless you get an offer in the mail.
1. Capital One (Preapproval)
2. Credit One (Processing Fee)
3. First Premier Credit (Processing Fee)
I got two secured credit cards the day my bankruptcy was discharged. I got one from a local credit union and the other from PNC. My FICO score went up about 100 points in 6 months. I know if I can do it, you can too. It just take time, patience, and determination. I'm a firm believer in secured cards and second chances.
^ when I got three cards at one time my score dropped , it said reason was that I opened too many new credit accounts. did that happen to you?