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I am looking to buy a house in the next 2 years and am really struggling to get my 670ish FICOs into the low 700s to secure a decent mortgage – I need some tips or suggestions?!?!
The Numbers
Age: 29
Income: 50k
Installment Debt: 45k total
35k student loans – always paid on time
8k auto loan – always paid on time
2k fed student loan – always paid on time
Credit Card Debt: $0
I only have 1 Credit Card, $300 credit limit that I’ve had for 10 years, charge $30 a month and then pay the full balance each month
Negative Credit History:
I have 4 collection accounts that were settled on 4-5 years ago(all for $100-400) – should hopefully disappear in 2-3 years
Positives:
My FICO scores have steadily climbed in the last few years as I’ve had a solid payment history on my installment loans/credit card but have seemed to stop climbing the last year despite the same on-time payment history and shrinking loan balances.
Are my negative collection accounts that haven’t had any activity in 4+ years really hurting my score?
What about the fact that I only have 1 credit card with a low limit of $300 (even though utilization rate is always 0% since I have no balance)?
Should I focus on paying down my installment loans the next 2 years to help boost FICO?
Should I get another Credit Card with a $4,000 credit limit so lenders see I have more credit available?
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!
Contact the office of the CEO for the companies (collection agencies) that you settled with. When you say "settled" do you mean "paid in full"? Normally, I would say to contact them and then arrange to pay in full in exchange for deleting the collection record from all 3 credit bureaus. However, you have already paid. Never do that until you have their confirmation in writing that they will "delete" the record. This is called "pay for delete". Several years ago, my score was in the 600's and I arranged to "pay for delete". I sent certified letters and emails and kept copies of everything. My score after all 4 collections were removed went from 630 to 720. This happened in 30 days. Today, my score is 784 (Equifix thru MyFico). I also had a good payment history except for those 4 collection items. My largest credit line was 1500. Today, I have a 25k credit card and a 20k credit card. My income is higher, but you can still get good limits as you get the collections removed and pay down debt. My only debt is a 15,000 car loan at 2.99% that I will pay off next year. You can search for "pay for delete" letters on this site. Good Luck!
@silveroak wrote:Contact the office of the CEO for the companies (collection agencies) that you settled with. When you say "settled" do you mean "paid in full"? Normally, I would say to contact them and then arrange to pay in full in exchange for deleting the collection record from all 3 credit bureaus. However, you have already paid. Never do that until you have their confirmation in writing that they will "delete" the record. This is called "pay for delete". Several years ago, my score was in the 600's and I arranged to "pay for delete". I sent certified letters and emails and kept copies of everything. My score after all 4 collections were removed went from 630 to 720. This happened in 30 days. Today, my score is 784 (Equifix thru MyFico). I also had a good payment history except for those 4 collection items. My largest credit line was 1500. Today, I have a 25k credit card and a 20k credit card. My income is higher, but you can still get good limits as you get the collections removed and pay down debt. My only debt is a 15,000 car loan at 2.99% that I will pay off next year. You can search for "pay for delete" letters on this site. Good Luck!
Thanks for the reply!
This is correct, I was in college and clearly I didn't know what I was doing at the time and 'paid in full' after they were sent to collections. My concern in contacting the collection agency with a 'pay-for-delete' letter would be that this would restart my 7 years until it fell off my report altogether.
So do you suspect these negatives are what is dragging down my FICO?
You need 2 more credit cards.
Contacting the collection agency can't "restart" the 7 years. The 7 years is calculated from the Date of First Delinquency, and collection agencies can't (legally) change that.
You need to work TWO avenues to rebuilding your credit. Get rid of the baddies. Add some good credit.
1. Try everything you can do to have the collections removed from your report. As long as they appear on your report the will have a negative impact on your scores. You need to keep trying, don't take no for an answer! Sometimes it takes MANY GW letters for them to delete the collections reported. Remember to always be nice, you are after all asking them for a favor. Read the REBUILDING FORUM for some good ideas concerning the drafting of GW letters. You could gain probably 50 to 100 points if you just were able to have those 4 collections removed.
2. You need at least 2 more credit cards. Most people on these forums agree that 3 credit cards are the minimum required to maximize your scores. Don't just apply for any credit cards. Always apply for credit with your LONG term goals in mind. You want to always work with PRIME banks if at all possible.
A couple of questions if I may?
Who is the lender for your 1 credit card?
How long ago was that credit card opened?
@tooleman694 wrote:You need 2 more credit cards.
+1. And getting the negs removed will help, too, but you won't see 100 points for it. and you probably won't see ANY points unless you get them ALL removed. Having 1, 2, 3 removed but leaving one doesn't do much.
I'd try goodwill letters and opening another card or two.
@jamie123 wrote:You need to work TWO avenues to rebuilding your credit. Get rid of the baddies. Add some good credit.
1. Try everything you can do to have the collections removed from your report. As long as they appear on your report the will have a negative impact on your scores. You need to keep trying, don't take no for an answer! Sometimes it takes MANY GW letters for them to delete the collections reported. Remember to always be nice, you are after all asking them for a favor. Read the REBUILDING FORUM for some good ideas concerning the drafting of GW letters. You could gain probably 50 to 100 points if you just were able to have those 4 collections removed.
2. You need at least 2 more credit cards. Most people on these forums agree that 3 credit cards are the minimum required to maximize your scores. Don't just apply for any credit cards. Always apply for credit with your LONG term goals in mind. You want to always work with PRIME banks if at all possible.
A couple of questions if I may?
Who is the lender for your 1 credit card?
How long ago was that credit card opened?
Thanks for the advice - I am going to start working on these goodwill letters and cross my fingers.
This credit card was opened 9 years ago and it's a Capital One.
I am going to get the Chase 'Freedom' Credit Card as I have been getting pre-approved offers from them and I believe they'd classify as a Prime lender. What is my credit limit is only like $500 when I apply - should I still go ahead and get it?
Hi,
i just got approved for a Chase Freedom... so if you get the 7-10 day message.. Call and recon... My limited started out at 2k, also if you have any family members that have a account at Navy Federal Credit Union, see if you can join thru them. They are great credit union and give nice credit limits on credit cards.