My Mortgage Journal (formerly: Would I qualify for an FHA Mortgage in ME?)

[Anonymous]

CREDIT

Scores:

• TransUnion: 624
• Equifax: 621

Negatives:

• Collections:
1. $150 unpaid utility.  Was not aware of this - never contacted by utility or collection agency.  Found out about it myself after reviewing my report.  Contacted collection agency with a PFD letter.  Can pay off immediately.  Dated: 3/6/2013
• Charge-Offs (Due to a divorce.  Wife abandoned me, draining joint account down to $1.17 and left me to do the best I could with what I had.  I paid rent and car above all-else.  Can evidence w/ copy of Divorce Decree):
1. $0.00  American Express credit card.  Date closed: 3/21/2012.  Status on CR: Closed - Paid-off after account closure
2. $2,928  Bank of America credit card.  Date closed:  7/24/2012  Status on CR: Closed
3. $0.00   Macy's store credit card.  Date closed: 8/17/2012  Status on CR: Closed - Paid-off after account closure
4. $982  Kohls store credit card.  Date closed: 9/12/2012  Status on CR: Closed

Open Accounts:

• Credit Cards:
1. $100 ($500 limit).  Capital One credit card.  Date opened: 12/19/2013.  Status on CR: Open - Current/Pays as Agreed
• Vehicle Loan:
1. $0.00  Date opened: 11/23/2009.  Date closed:  8/17/2013.  Status on CR: Closed - Current/No Missed Payments
2. $14,041  Date opened: 7/30/2013.  Status on CR: Open - Current/No Missed Payments

Closed Accounts:

• Student Loans:
1. $0.00  Date closed:  2/22/2010.  Status on CR:  Closed - Current/No Missed Payments

Other (Public Records, Judgements, Tax Liens, Child Support, Bankruptcy):

• None

Hard-Pulls:

• 6 (5 of which will fall off by 8/2015)

INCOME

Full-time Employment Salary:

• $67,000 annually

Bonus:

• 3-6% annually

Explanation:

• Full-time salary employment as a Risk & Insurance Manager.  I started here 12/2014, but have been doing substantially similar work all along.  Prior positions:  Contracts Manager (2 years), Project Analyst (2 years), Insurance Underwriter (5 years).

MONTHLY DEBT PAYMENTS

• $377/month vehicle payment
• $25/month credit card payment (can pay off immediately, but was intentionally carrying a balance)

ASSETS/RESERVES

• ~$10,000

LOCATION

• Portland, Maine and surrounding

PROPERTY

• Single-family home - as turn-key as can be.

VALUE

• $150-200k w/ 3.5% down.  Family member is willing to contribute towards downpayment and provide a gift letter.

OCCUPANCY

• Primary Residence

TRANSACTION TYPE

• First-time Purchase

[Anonymous]

Bump 

[Lemmus]

...are those scores Fico mortgage scores or the Fico 8 scores you normally see here? ...see the sticky at the top of the forum if you don't understand the question.

[Anonymous]

Those were my FICO 8 scores.  I did some research here, and here are my more appropriate scores:

EQ 04: 616

TU 04: 595

EX 98: 595

Other Relevant Updates:

• At the counseling of the broker that I hope to work with, today I "Settled-In-Full" the outstanding Bank of America charge-off of $2,928.26.
• The creditor has agreed to delete the $150 unpaid utility collection.  I paid this in full last week - just waiting on the update.
• I received a credit line increase on my Capital One credit card of $1,000, bringing my total limit to $1,500.  My existing utilization is under 20%.

Our agent has suggested that a USDA RD loan may be an even better fit for us, as most of the home around here qualify, so I would like that option considered as well.  

Thanks for the feedback; I really appreciate it.

[Anonymous]

I say you did some pretty good damage control.  The bad stuff on your CR is gonna be there awhile but they are closed, so nothing is out there lurking.  The good news on that is damage is done and won't get any worse, and as time slips by the hurt less and less.

Keep working with the LO, he knows more than us, if he thinks he can get ya house, I'd let him do his thing.  My only advice is see what you can do to get your scrores into the mid 600s, with the right coaching that might not take long.  In my case I was told opene 2 more CCs and PCed another.  My score has gone up 40+ points across all 3 in 6 months.  YMMV.  Run the different scenarios on the simulator.

Keep us posted.

[Anonymous]

Updates:

• The utility collection has been removed from Equifax and Experian; TransUnion is dragging their feet...maybe next week.
• CapitalOne is reporting my updated balance, but not my new limit, so my utilization is artificially skewed...again, maybe next week.

My CreditKarma scores took a dump this week - not sure why as the only changes were improvements (i.e. removed collection).  My MyFICO scores improved though (further evidence that CK is essentially worthless).  New scores are:

EQ 04: 627 (+11)

TU 04: 595 (+/- 0)

EX 98: 604 (+9)

I anticipate greater increases once CapitalOne reports my increased limit.  That should push my utilization to under the 30% sweet-spot.  Still waiting on a response from the bank regarding the erroneous 30-day-late they reported in July 2013.  I faxed them copies of my payment confirmations from that month, as well as the month prior.  Not sure a removal will provide a significant boost at this point though; it's almost 2 years old.  My Bank of America charge-off is still there as well, and reporting the full balance.  I don't anticipate a score change once it's updated, but the $0 balance will certainly help to smooth that rough edge.

EDIT:  Backstory on the 30-day-late, as I realize I hadn't shared that previously.  My now closed earlier auto loan reflects "No Missed Payments" on TransUnion, however it shows a single 30-day-late payment in July of 2013 on both Equifax and Experian - two weeks before I paid the account off in-full in August 2013.  I have my payment confirmations from June and July of 2013.  June's payment was 2 days late due to website maintenance (I have their email stating the dates of maintanance, and faxed that to them as well).  I could not have paid it earlier as my payday and due date coincided that month, so instead I made my payment on the next available date.  Still, I was never 31+ days late on that account, no matter how you do the math. 

[Anonymous]

Scores have yet to move, and I am DYING with anticipation.  I can't wait to see the change once CapitalOne reports my new limit, and my <18% utilization.

As an aside, I'm also having some trouble keeping up with my scores here on MyFICO.  I'll create my monitoring account, pay the monthly, and sure enough 3-4 days later my sub gets cancelled and refunded "due to an enrollment issue with TransUnion".  If I want updated scores, and a new report, I have to buy a sub all over again, and then wait for it to be cancelled on me.  I've called MyFICO for help, and they recommended I call TransUnion directly.  TransUnion tells me nothing is the matter, and to resub.

Getting awfully tiring.  Anyone ever experience this?

[Anonymous]

Updates:

• The utility collection was removed from TransUnion - wahoo!!  It's now gone from all three bureaus.
• CapitalOne is still reporting my old limit and balance...ugh!  It HAS to be next week as that's my statement week.  Fingers crossed for a nice increase!
• Heard back from Ally on my erroneous 30-day-late.  They won't budge, even though I've sent them evidence of payment for the month in question, as well as the month prior.  Every person I get on the phone seems to be "slower" than the person prior.  I'm about ready to give up on this one...  It's almost a full two years old, and at this point I think disputing it with the CBs directly may do more harm than good, especially since we're working towards a USDA Guaranteed loan which only has a 12-month requirement on your most recent late, and I'm well past that.
• Settled Bank of America charge-off is still unchanged - probably see that updated next week.

New mortgage scores are:

EQ 04: 627 (+/-0)

TU 04: 618 (+23!)

EX 98: 604 (+/-0)

Inching closer...

[frugalQ]

you are on it!!!  congrats on the score increase!!!

[Lemmus]

...don't give up on the Ally ...if you have the docs supporting your case AND kept the delivery receipts from when you sent them to Ally, then you have all thats necessary to file a complaint directly with the FCRA under the federal statutes ...I forget the statute acronyms but they are readily available in the Repairing Your Credit forum ...when my last neg came off my scores jumped 70 points on that alone ...well worth staying the course ...you are right, they are wrong, stick with it.