HELP!! I Need Advice....

[theREBIRTHofCREDIT]

I have a credit history of 7 years. My credit scores have been up and down. I was never educated about the importance of GOOD CREDIT and never really cared much about credit until now (I'm want to buy a house in the near future). My FICO scores as of 11/07 is EQ 565, TU 595, and EXP 598. When I leased my car in 08/05 my TU score was 670. since then I have missed a few payments and other accounts have went into collections... I have paid off every credit card and collection that was previously on my report.

Currently:

I opened a NY&C card 07/05 limit $300 balance $0 (only used this card 2x in 05) I have never missed/never late on this account.

I leased my car (Toyota Financial) in 08/05 I currently owe $14,000 I have been current/never late on all payments since 06/07.

I consolidated all my Student Loans to one bill in 02/07 (they were in deferment until 10/07) I owe $17,000 I have never missed/never late on this account.  

I opened a HSBC card in 05/07 limit $300 balance $189.87 (I know that I need to pay this down/off) I have never missed/never late on this account.

I opened a Dell Financial account 10/07 limit $1500 balance was $1409 (after purchasing my laptop) but paid it down to $0 a week later. I have never missed/never late on this account.

For the pervious accounts that I PIF/closed, I was told to writ GW letters... does this work?

I was told by my sister in law (who is a mortgage loan officer) that I need to open a couple more credit cards... Should I do this, why/why not??

What other tips/advice does anyone have in regards to getting my credit score higher...

Thankx in Advance

theREBIRTHofCREDIT

[LittleCat]

I have found that, much to my impatience, that time has been the thing that has done a great deal for me. Paying on time, every time and letting time do the rest.

[TULO30]

Rebirth, you are well on your way to rebuild your credit.  Just remember the race is not won quickly.  I takes patience, stability, time and most of all consistently.  You have to be consistent about everything...paying on time, sending out gw letter repeatedly, disputing any incorrect data.  But, don't be discouraged you can increase your credit score over time.

[SmartCookie]

GW letters definitely work.  You might not get all of them, but send a thoughtful and detailed one to each paid derog.  Wash, rinse, repeat every other month, taking it higher withing the company if you can get better addys and departments... or names.  Be nice and kiss tush frankly.

Do not apply for new credit until you see some FICO results from the GWs.  I do think you need another major CC and higher limits, but first things first.

Very good about all of your open accounts minus Toyota never being late.  GW Toyota too.

Call NY and Co, Dell, and HSBC and see if they can give you any sort of CLI without doing a hard INQ.  A 'soft' account INQ is what you are looking for... it won't hurt your FICO and you might increase your UTI with no effort but a few calls.

Charge something small (under $30 inclusive of tax) on NY and Co to get it reporting.  Let it generate onto a new statement and PIF.  If money is tight, honestly I don't care if you buy something close to the cycle end date, let it get on a new statement, and return it for credit.  

You should see a nice increase in FICO as you work to pay off your Dell card and get the HSBC closer to under 10% UTI.

You don't need score hits from hard INQs applying for CCs you don't know if you will get.  You need one new card that you feel your chances of approval are 99.9 on.  You might also want a line of credit on your checking account.  See what progress you can make in the next few months before blowing INQs for nothing (or nothing great) though IMHO.  Sounds like you are off to a great repair start and you know what you are doing.