Hi all,
I'll keep this short. I have 14 years credit history. On my report, I have 4 credit cards, 2 of which are over 10 years old. I also have 2 student loans that I have been repaying for 5 years with no missed or lates. In the past, I've had a mortgage, car note, and other student loans all of which are paid in full. Basically, here's what happened. I graduated college and became disabled (blindness). I bought a house 2 years ago. I had an 805 credit score at the time. My income is low, so I bought a fixer upper.
I sold that house and used some equity to buy another house. That house did not qualify for a mortgage since it was in disrepair. I bought it cheap and paid cash. I used my credit cards to fix it up (assuming I would get a home equity line or mortgage and pay off the balances once the house was up to par.) Well, the house is fixed. I have three cards that are at the top of their limits, but with no lates or overages.
I was recenlty turned down for a home equity line. The letter said my credit score was 662 (I reviewed it, and nothing is different than I described). They said the "key factors" were 1. serious delinquency, 2. proportion of balance or limits too high, 3. time since delinquency too recent.
I've been turned down for 2 credit cards for the same reasons. I called transunion, got some guy in India, who just wanted to sell me a score. He could not tell me what was delinquent. I find no delinquency anywhere.
Two questions. !. Would a credit score drop from 805 to 662 just because I took 3 cards close to their max (total 20k, but the house is worth 85k and has no mortgage).
The only other factor that occured during this time is that a student loan I had was finally forgiving due to disability. (I have others that I have paid and am still paying on). The Department of Education said it would be reported as a transfer and would be neutral on the credit report. In fact, several of my student loans have been "transfered" to different servicers and it doesn't hurt my score. It is not listed as an adverse event on the report.
so, do you think they are calling this "forgiveness" a delinquency? It hit my score like a foreclosure. That is not fair to me. The loan was paid under an insurance clause that had nothing to do with my credit worthiness. If they are making a mistake here, how do I begin to dispute it? I now own a house on credit cards with 4k per year in interest. I assumed this would be a short term thing. Thanks
