Desperate to raise scoe 60 points in 3 months MAX!

[Anonymous]

ok been at my job 11 years went through a foreclosure 3 years ago this March have been paying everything ontime for the past 2 years! I have a $6000 car loan balance that i'm joint holder with my mom the orginial loan amount being $9300. I also have a paid judgement on there from 2008 as well as 1 new collection that just posted for $400 through ATT/AFNI INC. We hired a so called "credit specialist" who was able to get 2 old collections deleted but for the $300 he charged us we don't feel as though he did his job. I have 4 kids my wife is a stay at home mom(this is her  account on myfico) we currently rent and pay $995 a month. We are pretty desoerate to get preapproved for a mortgage loan and are working with a loan officer. He pulled our reports and says we need a score of 620 across the board they are currently Experian-569,Equifax-583 and Transunion-619 I have a capital one that i pay off 2x a month, the car loan i already mentioned, and just got approved for a HSBC Discover card ya know the one that discover gives you when you are not approved for an actual discover card. So what can I do for a score increase? The loan officer suggested I pay down the car loan making me owe less than 50%? I tried emailing AFNI trying to get a PFD and despite emailing 4 times have yet to receive a reply. We are in very tight quarters here with the 4 kids and am extremely desperate to get preapproved. What can I do??? Thanks so very much as I greatly appreciate any and all advice.

[bigman023]

60 points in 3 months is pretty tough. Paying down your car loan will do nothing to bring up your score. The fastest way to boost your score is to pay down CC debt.  Getting rid of the collections can also boost your score, but that often takes alot of time to accomplish.  Sometimes one wont see a boost from having a collection account removed, unless its the last collection on your report.

Pull your scores here, or ask your lender for the codes on your report.  These codes tell you whats hurting your score.  If you pull from here, it will also list the things that are hurting your score. 

You mentioned you just got approved for an HSBC Discover.  Don't  forget that new accounts have a negative effect on your AAoA.  This could actually bring your score down.  Take a look at the Rebuilding you credit board here on myfico.com.  Theres tons of information there.  I wouldn't make another move until you've gone over there and did some research.

Good Luck!

[Anonymous]

write AFNI and ask for a PFD..call them at ask to the right address..

[PixieQueen80]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

ok been at my job 11 years went through a foreclosure 3 years ago this March have been paying everything ontime for the past 2 years! I have a $6000 car loan balance that i'm joint holder with my mom the orginial loan amount being $9300. I also have a paid judgement on there from 2008 as well as 1 new collection that just posted for $400 through ATT/AFNI INC. We hired a so called "credit specialist" who was able to get 2 old collections deleted but for the $300 he charged us we don't feel as though he did his job. I have 4 kids my wife is a stay at home mom(this is her  account on myfico) we currently rent and pay $995 a month. We are pretty desoerate to get preapproved for a mortgage loan and are working with a loan officer. He pulled our reports and says we need a score of 620 across the board they are currently Experian-569,Equifax-583 and Transunion-619 I have a capital one that i pay off 2x a month, the car loan i already mentioned, and just got approved for a HSBC Discover card ya know the one that discover gives you when you are not approved for an actual discover card. So what can I do for a score increase? The loan officer suggested I pay down the car loan making me owe less than 50%? I tried emailing AFNI trying to get a PFD and despite emailing 4 times have yet to receive a reply. We are in very tight quarters here with the 4 kids and am extremely desperate to get preapproved. What can I do??? Thanks so very much as I greatly appreciate any and all advice.

---

Hi angelaperalta - My advice switch lenders.  I always throw their names out there (because they are the only lenders I know that go down this low) so check out First Guarantee Mortgage Corp (FGMC).  The accept a 580 and your mid score is 583 so you would qualify.  Strategically, I would get the pre-approval through them and start house hunting while working on improving my scores.  If they did increase as I wish then move to my preffered lender.  This IS what I did but not intentionally.  I had a new contruction built and put a coontract on the site in June knowing it wouldn't be delivered until October (this meant I would have to do another credit pull due to credit report validation periods) so I worked on my credit in hopes of getting a better rate with FGMC but my scores improved enough that I was able to go through a state loan program at extremely incredible rates.

Good luck and keep us posted on what you decide.

[Booner72]

AFNI Will do a PFD.  Is this your most recent collection?  Do you have any more collections?  I was able to get an AFNI deleted when I was desperate for a mortgage this past summer, and it was my most recent.  I think I got 15 points.  Do you have revolving accounts that can be paid off?  If so, have ALl report a zero balance, and then let only ONE report a small balance, 1-9% of it's limit.

Regarding finding a mortgage that goes down to 580 scores, well, I guess the last poster was the only one I've read since May that actually went through that low.  Don't mean to burst hopes but IMO it's better to be realistic then get into a long drawn out process and then have it fall through early or late.  Solid scores are the first step of many.  The advice around here is that your jmid score should be at least 640.  My LO from Academy Mortgage said she could definitely get us approved at 620, but the rates wouldn't be as good and the closing costs.

It might be better in your case to give your case it might take more than 3 months, but if you have revolving to pay down then I think you have a great shot.  What is the rush that you have to do this in 3 months? 

Good Luck!!!!

[PixieQueen80]

---

@Booner72 wrote:

AFNI Will do a PFD.  Is this your most recent collection?  Do you have any more collections?  I was able to get an AFNI deleted when I was desperate for a mortgage this past summer, and it was my most recent.  I think I got 15 points.  Do you have revolving accounts that can be paid off?  If so, have ALl report a zero balance, and then let only ONE report a small balance, 1-9% of it's limit.

Regarding finding a mortgage that goes down to 580 scores, well, I guess the last poster was the only one I've read since May that actually went through that low.  Don't mean to burst hopes but IMO it's better to be realistic then get into a long drawn out process and then have it fall through early or late.  Solid scores are the first step of many.  The advice around here is that your jmid score should be at least 640.  My LO from Academy Mortgage said she could definitely get us approved at 620, but the rates wouldn't be as good and the closing costs.

It might be better in your case to give your case it might take more than 3 months, but if you have revolving to pay down then I think you have a great shot.  What is the rush that you have to do this in 3 months? 

Good Luck!!!!

---

To clarify I did not close with FGMC but instead Bank of America.  I know they go down that low because they were my initial lender but I switched when my score improved for my state loan program.  I have read on this forum of others that have closed in the past month using FGMC with decent rates (either 4.75 or 4.25) so if your (OP) goal is a home research ALL of your options and PM the individuals who used FGMC and see what their experience was.  Yes, the lower your scores are limits your choices however it is not impossible to secure a loan especially if you have a clean payment history for the past 24 months and monies reserved (ideally 3 months worth of mortgage, taxes and insurance.)  Good luck and don't become discouraged!!!