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drshabazz wrote:
Hi everyone - I'm new here. I've really enjoyed a lot of the information I'm reading.
A quick bit about me - filed BK in 2005. Somehow got a $2000 limit Cap One card in 2006 that up until now is the only new card I've been approved of since my BK (applied for a few others since that time but not approved... I was carrying a large balance at the time however I payed it off entirely last month). I have a $400 JCPenny charge card that wasn't included in the BK and just started using it again (was dormant since 2003) My Equifax is at 665 (just jumped from 637 after having payed that balance off). Total $2400 limit, $2400 available credit at the moment. No other debts, loans, or mortgages - good job and income now.
I'm looking to buy a house in the next 6-18 months so I'm really concerned about credit inquiries and anything that could potentially hurt my score. I'm not all that far from 680, which is the next goal for me. Are there any secured cards that report to credit agencies that won't show up on my credit inquiries list? I bank with BofA and talked to them about their secured card and they said they do indeed do a credit check. Is this the norm? I have about $1000 to put to a secured card at the moment. I read on another forum something about one bank not doing a credit check and then also something about an Orchard Bank doing one check to see if you qualify for an unsecured card and if you don't automatically bumping you to a secured card. That might be more interesting to me if that is true since there might be a chance I'd get approved for something now that my balances have been payed off.
Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated. Also - ScoreWatch just reported my Equifax score jumping - is it likely that my new score has already hit TransUnion and Experian's records or do they all update on their own schedules? I was wondering if I should wait a few weeks or something lest someone check my credit and see the old score with the old balances I was carrying.
Thanks!
drshabazz wrote:
One credit report is currently showing that I have 3 inquiries, while 2 reports are showing 2 inquiries in the last 12 months.
drshabazz wrote:
I guess this is a situation where I'm trying to figure out what the best way to achieve my goal is. My goal is clear - to be able to qualify for a home loan within the near future with a good interest rate. And the way I feel I need to achieve this goal is to do whatever I can to increase my fico scores. One way that I see that I can do that is to open another account, hopefully with a decent limit, and pay that on time regularly to help continue to build my score. At the same time, in doing that, I could jeopardize my ability to get that very loan because of the fact I'll have a new account at that point. At what point will a lender stop seeing that as a new account that might factor into me getting a loan or not? After 12 months? After 18 months? Longer?
drshabazz wrote:Is one credit card and one department store card with a total credit limit of $2400 enough to reasonably raise my scores over the next 6-12 months if I do everything right? Or should I strongly consider opening up a new account or more to help get my a higher score faster? Any thoughts or suggestions from the pros on this forum would be appreciated!
drshabazz wrote:
Thanks again-
On the 2 accounts I have open:
1) Capital One card with $2000 limit and $0 balance (just payed it off entirely!)
2) JC Penny department store card w/ $400 limit / $75 balance (just started using this card again after it being dormant since 2003)
That makes my total available credit at $2400 and I'm utilizing only $75 (in my first post I said $0 balance - forgot that I just recently made $75 purchase to get that JC Penny card active again).
And yes I have pulled my scores from MyFico, and I currently have the ScoreWatch.
Thanks.
Edit: Sorry, forgot the add how old they were. Cap One card was opened in 4/2006 and JCPenny card was opened in 11/2002 but again I just started actively using it again.
Message Edited by drshabazz on 02-29-2008 10:50 AM