Hey all,
Putting this here so next time someone like me is searching for the answers; maybe they'll find one!
Quick facts:
Filed BK7 August 2010, Discharged Dec 5th, 2010
California State Tax Lien - ~$1700 Filed May 2011, PIF/Release (but still reporting) Nov 2011.
Federal Tax Lien - ~$22,000 file March 2011, still reporting active/unpaid
EQ FICO: 677 (myFico and the Navy Federal Pull)
No derogs after BK except the Tax Liens
Had only 1 inq in 24 months on EQ when I apped
Navy HP'd EQ twice (one for each) which pulled me down to 674, no biggie.
Approved:Navy Federal Flagship Signature Visa, CL $5,000 APR 14.9%
NavCheck: CL $5,000
As most of you know, I filed a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy that was discharged in Dec 2010 and I have been rebuilding and experimenting since. You may also know that I wasn't planning on apping for the Navy Federal Flagship Visa and NavCheck until July/August of this year, while I was waiting for Barclays to age and my IRS Lien to be removed.
Well, last Friday after completing my experiment, Scorewatch let me know that my Equifax FICO had hit 677. I was 18months, 5 days post discharge and stoked.
I sat back down and reviewed my plan of waiting to apply and did a ton more research on NFCU (specifically the Flagship Signature Visa). At the same time, I reminded myself that the whole goal right now is to be 700+ on Dec 6th, 2012 (12 months, to the day, after discharge). Doing the math, I realized that a new line seems to bump your score a touch once it's 6 months old, and if I apply/approved in May, my AAoA would be 13 months in Dec, instead of 11 if I apped in July/August.
So, I decided to log in to NFCU and app for both the Signature Visa and NavCheck last Friday around 3pm PDT. Got a 1-3 day message on the Visa and a 1 hour message on the NavCheck. Ok, that's not so bad.
Nothing happened and I figured I wouldn't hear anything over the weekend, because I forgot that they do recon over the weekend there. Anyhow, got a call on Saturday from the Credit Card division. They wanted last 2 paycheck stubs, because when they called my office (on Sat), it was closed. No big deal, faxed them over about 30 minutes later.
Monday morning, I had been approved for my Flagship Visa with a $5,000 starting CL and 14.9%. Pretty good! (As of this writing, it hasn't come yet, oh well). I still hadn't heard anything about the NavCheck, but I really didn't need either of these, I just wanted them to rebuild my scores (and the Siggy is 0 Foreign Transaction Fees, which for me is a big plus), so I really didn't care at all.
Monday afternoon I got a call from the consumer loans department, they wanted to know the status of my Tax Lien. I told them I had been paying on an installment agreement since October 11 and that it was scheduled to be removed in Late Jul/August (Form 12277). She said OK, she'd pass along the info, but didn't ask me to send them anything (proof) at the time.
Fast forward to yesterday afternoon... hadn't heard anything since Monday (and still didn't really care whether or not I got approved), when I got another call from consumer lending. She asked if I had another bank account, "we figure you must," she said. I said yes and she asked me to send in the most recent statement from that account. She also asked for my 2 most recent paystubs and proof that the lien had been settled and/or was being paid on. I told her that was no problem at all.
So, I gathered up my stubs, printed a copy of my other bank statement, found my original installment agreement from the IRS, my new one (switched to Direct Debit as part of the requirement for form 12277), and went on to EFPTS where I printed out my payment history. I also wrote small notes on the paperwork before I sent it in, so they knew why there were two IRS agreements, and I circled the most recent IRS payment on my bank account statement. Put my info on the cover sheet and faxed the package in.
Well, NavCheck @ $5K was approved about an hour ago. BK and Lien notwithstanding.
My Barclays is only 4.5 months old so they could close it, but I hardly give a rat's butt. My NFCU siggy just became my primary anyway and the Barclays got sent to the minors.
What's nice is that I have literally nothing to do now but bide my time and watch my score climb. Really want that 700 w/ the BK @ 2 years old. I've got 26points to go and 5.5 months to do it in. I think that's easily achievable doing nothing but gardening. We'll see.
Cheers, and have a great weekend!
-SM
ETA: 18 months, 13 days out of BK now and I have 13550 in total credit @ 2%-or-so util (I PIF every month, sometimes before the statement cuts, sometimes after).
Starting Score: ~470 preBK(8/2010)
Congrats! I love NFCU. They were extremely generous to me 
I love the fact that NFCU has real people who can look at files and make decisions
Congrats!
FICO 9: 
Filed Chapter 13 on 6/1/2017 after job loss. Discharged 6/1/2022.
Goal: Gardening!
Filed Chapter 13 on 6/1/2017 after job loss. Discharged 6/1/2022.
Goal: Gardening!