How can I get a 7 point fico boost - FAST?

[NavyWife58]

Hi there,

Im trying to buy a house and have come a long way, credit wise. In June of 2010, I was a 483, and now I am a 613. It took a lot of money and patience.

I am trying to qualify for a VA loan, already have a house in mind, etc. I've paid off just about all that I can and do not know what else I can do for this 7 point increase thats needed. All thats left is a Military Star Card (revolving) that has a $480 balance with a $2400 limit. Do you think if I was to pay this down to a $0 balance it would give me the 7 points needed? Please help!

(The rush is bc closing needs to happen by 5/1)

THANK YOU!!

[JayRizzo]

Well, it may have to wait beyond 5/1 depending on when your ccc reports to the CRA.  If it reports at the end of each month, then your report will not update from a couple of days to a week after 5/1.  If it reports after the statement, you may have a little luck with your zero balance showing by 5/1.

Also, you may be cutting yourself short about a month... that would have been my first thing was to push my expected date back a month just to make sure nothing goes wrong because you're borderline if you're needing only 7 more points.  Once they start pulling reports, this WILL drop and will put you back under that threshold you were trying to reach above.

[guiness56]

---

@NavyWife58 wrote:

Hi there,

Im trying to buy a house and have come a long way, credit wise. In June of 2010, I was a 483, and now I am a 613. It took a lot of money and patience.

I am trying to qualify for a VA loan, already have a house in mind, etc. I've paid off just about all that I can and do not know what else I can do for this 7 point increase thats needed. All thats left is a Military Star Card (revolving) that has a $480 balance with a $2400 limit. Do you think if I was to pay this down to a $0 balance it would give me the 7 points needed? Please help!

(The rush is bc closing needs to happen by 5/1)

THANK YOU!!

---

Are there any paid negatives on your report you could ask for a GW removal?

[Anonymous]

---

@NavyWife58 wrote:

Hi there,

Im trying to buy a house and have come a long way, credit wise. In June of 2010, I was a 483, and now I am a 613. It took a lot of money and patience.

I am trying to qualify for a VA loan, already have a house in mind, etc. I've paid off just about all that I can and do not know what else I can do for this 7 point increase thats needed. All thats left is a Military Star Card (revolving) that has a $480 balance with a $2400 limit. Do you think if I was to pay this down to a $0 balance it would give me the 7 points needed? Please help!

(The rush is bc closing needs to happen by 5/1)

THANK YOU!!

---

First, I agree with the two comments made above.

Regarding your question on the Military Star Card, you're currently at 20% utilization on that card.  If you pay it down, you may see some points.  Some folks see an improvement when they get below 19% (your mileage may vary) and most folks see an additional improvement when they get below 9%, and on occasion a few folks see even more improvement when they hit about 2-3% (I don't).

Remember that the mantra is to keep one revolving card reporting less than 9%; with all other revolving accounts reporting zero for highest FICO points. 

Pay attention to reporting dates, and remember that even if you pay a card down to zero - it may not be reporting zero to the CRA's on that date.  Reported balances are what you'll want to be watching when you do balance reporting fine-tuning for points.

You can also do a rapid rescore if time is not working with you.  It costs but your lender will be able to help you decide if it's worthwhile.

Best wishes! 

[NavyWife58]

Thank you all for your responses!

What happened was, I got into contract without actually having credit approval. Crazy, i know, but the realtor and broker thought that I waw so close that it was worth working with me. I paid off that last collection and had it deleted, along with paying down my Star Card from 30-20%, and it literally did almost nothing for me except give me a 3 point increase... At this point I have nothing else to do... but bay my card down to maybe 5% of the limit in hopes it will give me that boost. I have the opportunity to rapid rescore and am considering on doing it on the one bureau I need it on (TU), which carries my mid score. Do you guys think bringing the balance from 20 to 5 % will work?? Thanks>>> Supposed to be closing in 23 days!!! <<<<<

[doublespaces]

Pay it off down to 1%, thats my opinion. Equifax's score simulator consistently gives you more points for having a utilization over 0% but as little as possible. Gives a better score for 1% than it does for 2% for example. Again a simulator is what it is but equifax controls how it works.

Also, Wells Fargo is doing FHA loans down to scores of 500, you might want to see if they do VA loans at 600 instead of 620 for the rates and down payment you are looking for. I just know this from speaking to them, not from personal experience.

[NavyWife58]

Thank you very much for your response. I will definitely be giving Wells Fargo a call tomorrow to see what their credit criteria is for VA loans... Thanks again!