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Raise credit score up 20 points

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Anonymous
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Raise credit score up 20 points

Hi, I am trying to apply for a mortgage and my lender told me that for me to get the down payment assistance I need to have a median score of 640. My current score on equifax is 627 and 605 on experian and transun hasn't been updated yet. Anyway, is there anything I can do to earn quickly those few points back ? Would opening a new credit line help? I heard it's not recommended before applying for a mortgage. Also I have 7 hard inquiries that I'm disputing with Lexington law and shouldn't be on my account as I never gave my approval for those. 

Can someone help me figure out what to do ? I have a home I like a lot but I can't put an offer until I have the approval from the lender which is when I will have raised my score to 640.

 

Thanks 

Message 1 of 11
10 REPLIES 10
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Raise credit score up 20 points

Welcome to the community, Melissa!

 

Here are a few questions that will help us give you appropriate advice for your situation.

 

1. How many credit cards do you have? What are their credit limits? And what are your current balances?

 

2. Do you have any open installment loans (like a car loan)? If so, what were the original loan amounts and what are the current balances owed?

 

3. If you don't have any open installment loans, do you have an closed installment loans that are still on your credit reports (that is, they've been closed less than 10 years)?

 

4. Do you have any derogatories on your credit reports (late payments, collections, etc.)?

 

It's likely there's something you can do to squeeze out those 20 needed points, but what exactly that will be will depend on the answers to those questions.

Message 2 of 11
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Raise credit score up 20 points

Thank you for your fast reply. I do have one kohl's charge card, the balance was 300 dollars and I paid it full, which now reflects positively on my credit report.

 

I also have a car loan, it shows about 4500 paid and 8000$ left (approximately ) it is outstanding has I always pay it on time.

 

I have 4 medical collections that Lexington law is disputing for me at the moment but it's going to take a while and I don't believe it will work even though I am not supposed to have them on my credit report, amcol systems is a pain in the .... anyway

 I had a payday loan a year ago which I paid back full on time but they say they don't report it to credit bureaus. 

I also have 7 hard inquiries that I explained in my first post.

 

Anything that could help me get these 20 points as quickly as possible? 

 

Thanks

Message 3 of 11
silkysean
Regular Contributor

Re: Raise credit score up 20 points


@Anonymous wrote:

Thank you for your fast reply. I do have one kohl's charge card, the balance was 300 dollars and I paid it full, which now reflects positively on my credit report.

 

I also have a car loan, it shows about 4500 paid and 8000$ left (approximately ) it is outstanding has I always pay it on time.

 

I have 4 medical collections that Lexington law is disputing for me at the moment but it's going to take a while and I don't believe it will work even though I am not supposed to have them on my credit report, amcol systems is a pain in the .... anyway

 I had a payday loan a year ago which I paid back full on time but they say they don't report it to credit bureaus. 

I also have 7 hard inquiries that I explained in my first post.

 

Anything that could help me get these 20 points as quickly as possible? 

 

Thanks


First off I would get rid of Lexington law they can't do nothing you can't do for yourself.If you have7 hard inquiries and you didn't do them why would Lexington try to apply for credit for you or have creditors doing hard pulls.If those 7 are not there you would pick up a couple points.If you had more revolving ones/atleast 3 credit cards atleast 1 plus years old they would have helped but def don't apply for any new credit.Good luck 

Message 4 of 11
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Raise credit score up 20 points

I'm not sure I understand what you said about Lexington law? I'm disputing the hard inquiries myself with letters they gave me to use and they are disputing my collections because I tried myself, got one removed last year then amcol bought back and put it back on my report so that's why I tried lexington. I figured I would give it a shot for a month or so and if not just cancel them. I'm mailing all my letters for the hard inquiries tomorrow morning. You said having them removed would help right? If so, could it help to the 20 points I'm missing?
Other than doing that, what else can I do?
Message 5 of 11
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Raise credit score up 20 points

Also ,could it help if I ask a friend to be added to their credit card but I don't use it? Like they just add me but I don't have the card so they don't risk anything, right?
Message 6 of 11
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Raise credit score up 20 points

Can my score change (go up) when I do my monthly payments for my car loan?
Message 7 of 11
silkysean
Regular Contributor

Re: Raise credit score up 20 points


@Anonymous wrote:
I'm not sure I understand what you said about Lexington law? I'm disputing the hard inquiries myself with letters they gave me to use and they are disputing my collections because I tried myself, got one removed last year then amcol bought back and put it back on my report so that's why I tried lexington. I figured I would give it a shot for a month or so and if not just cancel them. I'm mailing all my letters for the hard inquiries tomorrow morning. You said having them removed would help right? If so, could it help to the 20 points I'm missing?
Other than doing that, what else can I do?

Lexington Law can only do so much but that's money you can keep and just do all the work yourself.If there is something you didn't do and you have proof or a report and they refuse contact consumer protection and file a complaint to get the ball rolling.Having them removed should help but by how much nobody can really know.Its a belief that 1-2 inquires is between 2 and four points.So time will tell.If you can file a police report for fraud 

Message 8 of 11
silkysean
Regular Contributor

Re: Raise credit score up 20 points


@Anonymous wrote:
Also ,could it help if I ask a friend to be added to their credit card but I don't use it? Like they just add me but I don't have the card so they don't risk anything, right?

I'd be very careful about that because depending on Creditor/Issuser of card they will report but if Addreses don't match they will remove.But if Good family member /Friend has same address as you and on Credit Bureaus file and they have good credit then yes it will help get scores up but for a Mortgage app they don't consider Au accounts so your Mortgage fico score still will be different from your regular fico 8 score.

Message 9 of 11
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Raise credit score up 20 points


@Anonymous wrote:

Thank you for your fast reply. I do have one kohl's charge card, the balance was 300 dollars and I paid it full, which now reflects positively on my credit report.

 

I also have a car loan, it shows about 4500 paid and 8000$ left (approximately ) it is outstanding has I always pay it on time.

 

I have 4 medical collections that Lexington law is disputing for me at the moment but it's going to take a while and I don't believe it will work even though I am not supposed to have them on my credit report, amcol systems is a pain in the .... anyway

 I had a payday loan a year ago which I paid back full on time but they say they don't report it to credit bureaus. 

I also have 7 hard inquiries that I explained in my first post.

 

Anything that could help me get these 20 points as quickly as possible? 

 

Thanks


 

 

Hmmmm . . . your challenge is that it's the derogs and the inquiries that are holding it down. Until those medical collections are gone, it's going to slow going.

 

I don't think I'd open any new accounts. Long term, you could use a couple of new tradelines, but short term it could actually cost you a few points.

 

With your Kohl's card, I would charge a small amount each month ($10 is enough). Wait until you get the statement, and then pay it off before the due date. You didn't say what your credit limit was, but whatever it is, make sure you don't charge a large percentage of that amount on the card and let it report.

 

Your car loan should be helping you. You still owe about 64% of the loan. That's not bad. But if you can afford to, it might help to get that number below 50%. But that would mean paying an extra $1800 or so on it. And that may not be the best idea if you need the money for a down payment on the house you're planning to buy.

 

Your best hope really is to get the derogs and the hard inquiries removed. If they were all removed, it sounds like your score would shoot up. I wouldn't be surprised it got up close to 700. It's hard to say what just having the inquiries removed would do because the collections work like an anchor, holding down the score. And it's the last one to go that's going to give you the biggest increase.

 

I haven't had much experience disputing those, either on my own or with the help of someone like Lexington. While I'm sure that silkysean's advice is generally good, I don't think I'd change your approach at this point if time is an issue. I don't think you want to start disputing from scratch if Lexington already has the ball rolling.

 

 

Message 10 of 11
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