1st time home buyer

[Lasardo]

I have been surfing these forums for over a year now but only "rebuilding credit" .

I have done everything possible to bring my score form 554 to 674 in a year.  

I have removed 27 negative items from my credit reports, all medical, (except 2 which will drop off in December) by using the advise given here.

I have managed to get a few cc 'rds to rebuild and have seen a boost from those.

I have been added to 2 cards, of a friend, as an authorized user and saw a boost there (actually 30 points overnight) 

I opened a "credit builder" account which is a account that is listed as an installment loan, I am having issues with that right now, ..my bank was bought out by another bank and in the process they closed out my account and my score dropped 34 points..(this actually dropped me below 600 on my EX)  I am sweating this one but am in touch with a supervisor and hope they can correct the problem. 

I only have 6 items left on EX but paid 4 off yesterday (PFD) and will see those drop off, the last 2 will drop off in DEC. so nothing will be left after that! 

I have paid off $4500.00 towards my car and hope I did not make a mistake, it will be paid off in 4 months.. (this is my oldest account) 

I paid off all my cc's and am waiting right now to see what happens after I paid them,  how long does  it take to show up in your score? How far do the lenders go back? because they have always been almost maxed. (small CL) 

I will have 10,000 to pay towards a 130 k loan , so a 120k loan. (family loan) 

The biggest problem ..I am disabled, I am on a fixed income with myself and my daughter BUT the lender told me not to worry, this is more income then most and I can prove I am permanently disabled, I bring in income every month. 

So for all you out there that understand this credit game, give me some advise, I appreciate ANYTHING you have to say, good or bad, I obviously got myself in a big of a pickle with all the NEGS (medical) and have not exactly left my CCrds alone. I was going to move into a APT and wAit it out BUT apt living is 3X the amount of a  mortgage for the above amount. 

What would you do if you were me? 

Thanks 

[llecs]

Keep plugging away. Opt out. Pull your FICO scores and know them before applying.

Make sure the EX score you pulled is a FICO. The swtichover from revolving to installment wouldn't negatively impact your FICO because your mix is fine without them, but could impact util if balances were high on the other CCs at the time of the switch thereby making util higher.

Let everything drop before applying. Congrats on the PFDs.

Paying the car down was a good thing. It lowered the DTI as seen by your lender if you only have a few payments left.

Your CCs typically update your CRs with the balance you had on the statement date.

Lenders won't know that your cards were maxed. FICO doesn't know that your cards were maxed. Sure lenders can see the high balance, but many have faced CLDs and that can explain that. My lender didn't care.

If I was in the situation, I would wait until my reports were perfect or near-perfect, I had $$$$ in reserves, I kept my bank statements clean for a few months, and had the funds set aside for fees, DP, etc. At that point I would then apply. DW and I did that with one blemish and it was AOK.

[Lasardo]

With my car paid off in 3 months and that being my oldest account, will that drop my score?
I have 2 b at least a 640. My scores ate fico and my TU is actually 724 but EX is struggling, I have several, several inquiries also. I applied everywhere before I found this website and was denied, denied, denied then cap1 came along and now I have offers left and right. I ignore them, obviously, but am concerned.
What about get approved prior, do I need to apply for a home loan within 30 days for it to count as 1 ( think I read somewhere)
Thanks for advise ilecs, you've always been very helpful .

[llecs]

There's an outside chance you might see a small bump when paid off because you are adding another $0 balance acct. 

Inquiry damage is overrated. Don't worry about them. You might have to explain them if recent though. Any new accts from those inquiries can hurt but damage fades over time. Many see significant increases at the 1-yr mark as they age.

Mortgage, auto, and SL inquiries are lumped together within each category if pulled within a fixed time frame. That time frame varies via FICO version. The EQ FICO on here (Beacon 5.0) will ignore duplicate inquiries if pulled within a 30-day window. The TU FICO on here (TU98) is 14 days. Newer FICO versions are up to 45 days. YMMV. In other words, you can app 100 times in a 2-week period and FICO only dings for one inquiry. BTW, the impact of the inquiry, if any at all, won't be felt until that window expires. That way your score will be exactly the same when Lender #1 and #2 pull the same FICO versions the same day.

[Lasardo]

My major concern is that it if I don't get approved for the house before my car is paid off,that goes back to 2008 ,all my other credit just goes back 2011 and December 2011