Should I wait or apply for a mortgage now?

[dubess2525]

I know I need to get an actual score from a lender but I don't want to apply for a mortgage till I know I have a score that's good enough.  For the time being, here are the scores I'm looking at and would like to know which one is closest (based on Oct 2014 info):

Creditscore.com   609

Creditkarma.com  552  with vantage score of 632

Quizzle.com  574

Creditsesame.com 597

myfico.com  EQ 580; EX 587

Capitalone 552

I also use the credit simulators but no matter what I do to improve, my score never changes more than 10 points.  

I have:

Victoria's secret 70/300 = util 23%

Brylane's 110/500 = 22%

CapOne 295/500 = 59%.  Paying $200 on 11/7 which will bring my util to 19%

CreditOne 276/550 = 51%.  Paying $200 on 11/7 which will bring my util to 14%

Fingerhut 354/1200 = 21%.  Paying $200 on 11/7 which will bring my util to 12%

Current util = 1105/3050 or 36%

Util after 11/7 pymts = 505/3050 or 17%

4 paid collections

2 open collections though I know I paid but can't find that info - bal $900, from 2009

1 open collection with AT&T, did DV and now it shows as new in 2014 $450, was 2009

5 open medical collections - will be working on that over the next two weeks - total $3k (2009 to 2013)

1 repo - my daughter's, which I co-signed for, repo'd in Oct 2013, paid in full 

No lates reported for the last 12 months, except the AT&T that showed up this year, although it was from 2009.  Looks like some of the phone numbers on the bill are mine but I still have service with AT&T so I'm confused as to why my service was not shut off.  

I know the lender will be the only one who will give me the "real" score but I would like to know what ball park I'm in.  I'm guessing I'm in the 550-580 arena.  

My lease is up in December 2014 and I found a new construction house for $139k, FHA with 3% down.   I'll have the 3% by January and the realtor thinks the builder will hold the house till then (house is up but per the realtor, needs about 4-5 wks to be completed).

I explained my situation with the realtor, said my scores were probably in the 580 range and she said I should apply for a mortgage and see what happens. I'd rather know my scores were more in the 620 range before I applied.

If I get my util from 36%to 175, will that give me a 40 pt bump?  Or do I need to get the util below 10% to get that much of a bump?

I've got 3 months to get to 620, better if it were 640.  

Any suggestions would be great.

Thanks

[StartingOver10]

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@dubess2525 wrote:

......

I have:

Victoria's secret 70/300 = util 23%

Brylane's 110/500 = 22%

CapOne 295/500 = 59%.  Paying $200 on 11/7 which will bring my util to 19%

CreditOne 276/550 = 51%.  Paying $200 on 11/7 which will bring my util to 14%

Fingerhut 354/1200 = 21%.  Paying $200 on 11/7 which will bring my util to 12%

Current util = 1105/3050 or 36%

Util after 11/7 pymts = 505/3050 or 17%

4 paid collections

2 open collections though I know I paid but can't find that info - bal $900, from 2009

1 open collection with AT&T, did DV and now it shows as new in 2014 $450, was 2009

5 open medical collections - will be working on that over the next two weeks - total $3k (2009 to 2013)

1 repo - my daughter's, which I co-signed for, repo'd in Oct 2013, paid in full 

If I get my util from 36%to 175, will that give me a 40 pt bump?  Or do I need to get the util below 10% to get that much of a bump?

.....

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It looks like you have a balance on every single card/tradeline that is open. Is that true? If so, remember the scoring formula measures not only the utilization on individual cards/tradelines but measures across tradelines as well. 

That is why it is important to have zero balances on your credit cards too.  You will see a score bump with paying off as many cards as possible. Ideally you would only have one credit card with a low balance. However, if you can't pay off all the cards but one, it is best to have as many zero balance cards as you can.

The new collection is probably hitting you hard. Get rid of that by DVing the collector right away.

I would ignore the FAKO scores entirely. Why look at those scores? There is no correlation to the actual scoring formula.

[blondy250]

Your not ready, plus those scores are meaningless. However if they were real you'd definitely not be ready. Whats your DTI?

[anca21bi]

Although your scores are low, you should get them pulled from a lender. Then you can see exactly where you need to be and what exactly it is you need to do to bring your scores up. There are credit unions that will go down to a 580 credit score, you just have to look around or find a broker. I would pay off all the cards and leave the one with the highest limit at around 9% utilization. Make sure you pay before the statements cut.