Last late payment in 2010

[LCD328]

New to the forums, I'm a newbie. I'm getting ready to apply for a mortgage and I'm concerned about some late payments I had from 2008 to 2010 on two different car loans. 

At the time,  I had moved my family back home because of parents illness, but I had to stay in Florida for work and commute to Birmingham,  Al on the weekends. We got behind when my husband lost his job and couldn't find another one for several months.  I had been paying on both cars for over 3 years, with no late payments.  We got behind on both cars and had over 15 late 30 day payments, 3 late 60 days and 1 late 90 day.  We finally got both cars caught up to current and paid the last two years of payments on time. Both cars have been paid in full. 

My question is, will these late payments be a deciding factor in getting a mortgage, even though they are 5 years old. Should I even bother sending a goodwill letter with that many late payments. 

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. 

[StartingOver10]

Welcome to MyFICO forums!

Based on your post, the lates are old so they will not be an issue in your mortgage application. You probably will have to write a short letter of explaination but that is completely normal.

It would be helpful to know your mortgage scores.  For your own information and better responses, pull your mortgage scores here. They are the same scores the lender pulls. Don't look at the FICO 08 scores, the mortgage scores are further down in the reports along with the auto enhanced scores and bankcard scores. 

You can go to the products section and select the 3Bureau report to see your mortgage scores. Your lender will use your mid-score of the three and if both you and your spouse are on the new mortgage, the lender will use the lowest of the mid-scores between the two of you.

[LCD328]

Thanks for the response. My Mortgage Fico Score 5 is 625. Two days ago, I had my self removed as an AU on my Mother's BOA credit card. It was maxed out, and I'm hoping my score will come up after it's updated. 

[Anonymous]

StartingOver is spot on!

Lates that are that old should not play much of a factor. Most lenders require 620 or 640 for FHA, but some go lower.

Getting yourself removed as AU from that maxed out card is likely to help. In addition, do you have any credit cards with high balances that you can pay down? Just want to make sure you don't fall below your lender's minimum score requirement .

[Lemmus]

...send the GWs and keep sending them ...you have nothing to lose and it only costs a stamp ...life doesn't stop when you get a mortgage

...as others have noted, lates that old with a clean record since won't deter a mortgage lender if everything else is ok ...hth

[LCD328]

I have one card that is close to the credit limit, but it will be below 30% when I apply for a mortgage. I have 371 dollars in collections for 4 small medical bills. I'm going to ask the lender if I need to get them off before I apply. I don't plan to apply until my score is at least 660 or more. My yearly salary is 57075 and I have been at my job for 14 years. I have a 410 a month car loan and a 80 a month personal signature. I'm paying 1270 a month for rent with no problems,  so I plan on keeping my mortgage payment at least 200 a month less than my rent. No late payments at all since 2010.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like you are off to a great start. Definitely ask your lender about those collections, but other than that you are looking good!

And one piece of advice - I typically wouldn't recommend anyone under 680-700 to go conventional unless they have 20% down to eliminate PMI.

[LCD328]

Thanks. I'm going with an FHA loan, then do a refi in 5 years. I just don't want any surprises when I apply for a mortgage.  The MANY late charges that I have make me extremely worried for getting approved. The Fico forums have EDUCATED me so much. By reading through the posts, I learned that I could be taken off a maxed out CC as an AU user. I truly recommend this site for ANYONE needing info on their credit.

[Anonymous]

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@LCD328 wrote:

Thanks. I'm going with an FHA loan, then do a refi in 5 years. I just don't want any surprises when I apply for a mortgage.  The MANY late charges that I have make me extremely worried for getting approved. The Fico forums have EDUCATED me so much. By reading through the posts, I learned that I could be taken off a maxed out CC as an AU user. I truly recommend this site for ANYONE needing info on their credit.

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Agreed, this place is great! Although I am in mortgage, I have still learned a ton about credit simply from reading these forums.

We all wish you the best of luck, and let us know when you need advice along your journey!