Can you tell me if I have mortgage options?

[lizziebeans]

Long story short, I screwed up my credit. My husband has perfect credit. I'm trying to get things deleted. He wants to move NOW. I am going to go to my credit union and discuss mortgage options, but wanted to ask you all for your input first. We need both incomes to get a new home. Do you think we could we get an FHA mortgage? 

HIM: 

no negaitve on his report

all 3 regular FICO scores in the 800s

ME:

regular (as in non-mortgage) FICOs 591, 596, 628 

lates on student loans (most recent 11/14

Car repo 11/14, paid settlement 9/15

1 collection paid settlement 6/15

4 credit cards charged off from 4/14 - 8/14, all paid settlements 6/15 (one of these was/is the collection)

1 credit card with 5 30d lates as recent at 5/15, paid in full

1 old credit card from 1/11 with lates, paid in full in 2011

1 store card with lates as recent as 10/14 paid in full and closed

Basically, all may bad stuff is paid and I have zero balances across the board. I'm trying to get stuff removed but would like to get a mortgage asap. Also, I my FICOS were BEFORE I paid the car, so they still included a 6500 balance owed. 

We have money for a 10-20 % downpayment. 

Monthly debt includes student loans (160), car (325), child support (500)

Combine annual income is 150,000

Thoughts on getting a mortgage soon? Should I try the credit union, FHA route? Any other ideas? FYI, we need both inclomes included, can't use him alone. 

[youdontkillmoney]

I think the issue obviously is your credit file, as his is fine.

What's his income alone if he were to apply on his own?

[Anonymous]

I am no expert in mortgages, but based off what you posted, it looks a little grim.  I believe (someone correct me if I'm wrong) that FHA likes to see 12 months of on-time payments and no negatives in that time span.  With such recent derogs, it may be difficult to move this year. Paying off a car loan will not do much for your scores as revolving debt is factored into utilization, not installment debt.  I paid off my car last year and got a big fat 0 point increase and had 95% utilization.  Paid down my utilization from 75% to 35% in June and saw 30-40 point increases across the board. 

[Anonymous]

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@kokenwa wrote:

I believe (someone correct me if I'm wrong) that FHA likes to see 12 months of on-time payments and no negatives in that time span.<----- Not true. Paying off a car loan will not do much for your scores as revolving debt is factored into utilization, not installment debt. <------- True.

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You should get your actual mortgage FICO scores either from a lender or through this site. If your mid mortgage FICO is around 620, you may have some options. I agree with the above advice - what is your husband's income on his own?

[lizziebeans]

My income is the larger of the two and necessary for us to include in the mortgage. Thanks for your reply. 

[lizziebeans]

Does it help that I have paid everything off? And I am approaching 1 year out since tyhe charg-offs, repo, etc (11/14)? Is it just a waiting game as far as when my score decides to jump? 

Is it only me who finds this system totally unfair? My husband has literally PERFECT credit, we make a lot of money, we've saved a lot of money for a downpayment. Yet my one period of mistakes takes away all options? It seems unfair and leaves me hopeless and wishing I'd get hit by a bus and just die. I've been working at fixing this for 6 months and have just hit wall after wall after wall. No one is forgiving at all. Other people screw up their lives in much bigger ways and get second chances, yet I get none.  

[lizziebeans]

My FICO Score 2 (whcih is provided as a srevice by my credit union) is 627. This is still from before Ford was paid off, which I guess won't make a differrence anyway. Is this one they use for mortgages? It say so on this website somewhere. Would I need to pay to check all 3 mortgage FICOs?

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately, paying off collections/charge offs will not help your score since they stay on your report. They can make you look less risky to lenders, but unfortunately there is no impact on score (other than stopping reporting). If you check out the "Rebuilding Credit" subforum, there are many topics that explain goodwill letters and how you can use them to try to remove derogatory items from your credit report. They don't work all the time, but they are usually worth a shot.

[lizziebeans]

I've sent so many pay-for-delete letters, goodwill letters, debt validation letters, debt verification letters, dispute letters. I've been at it for 6 months and my only success was having one credit card delete the payment history record, but not the tradeline. I've been all over these forums and others as well. I've read volumes and carfully crafted letters accordingly. I had high hopes, but none of it has worked. I've now moveed on to hiring a credit repair firm. I know that's a big no-no around here, but I'm willing to see if I get results that way. 

[Anonymous]

FHA does not have mortgage requirements for late payments however, individual lenders may have restrictions on late payments made in the last 12 months. Greater emphasis is typically placed on late mortgage or rent payments in the last 12 months. Lenders may overlook a period of late payments on revolving and installment accounts as long as your overall payment history is not consistently poor. Any mortgage late payments made in the last 12 months means that the loan will rmore than likely require manual underwriting.