Rebuilding Your Credit

[bigwebb83]

I know this is probably an uber typical first post but here goes.  We are buying our second home.  We have been preapproved.  Our income is good.  My credit score is 701 TU, 679 Exp, and 693 equifax.  hers is 640 equifax, 690 exp and 667tu.  The main things are she had about 117 dollars in graduation fees from college that she had no idea about until they were four months late and eventually deducted from her income tax return..  There are also two instances of 30 day late payments on a bank of american cc from 2 years ago and 4 years ago.  last she has a 60 late payment on a 100 dollar balance for victorias secret card from 5 years ago.  

A little more info, she had a capital one credit card that was near the limit of 1700 that we paid off on 4/20.  She also had an hsbc card that was at about 80% that we paid off on the same day.  So that wiped out 2500 in her debt. the only thing she has left is a paypal credit card with about 1400 out of 1700 on it.  My question is, in addition to paying off those balances what else can i do that will give her a quick 10-30 point boost on that ugly equifax score?  They are the only ones reporting the deal with college foundation by the way.  Do you guys think goodwill letters are a good choice here?

[js0319]

Try to GW the lates, and get the remaining Paypal balance down to under $150. Once these update, she should see some decent increases.

[bigwebb83]

is paypal worse than the other cards?

[bridgetkaryn]

No paypal is not worse than others credit cards you just want to get your utility (CC debt divided by your CC limits) down and keep that under 9% for the best score increase.... Your credit utilization is about 35% of your credit score give or take... So it your wife had cards maxed out and an overall utility of 80%-ish that is a big ding... I would get all the CC's paid off and you should get the 20-30pts without issue...

[bigwebb83]

how quickly do you guys think I could see that gain if I paid that paypal off by the end of this week?

[tjmmp56]

This isn't a specific answer to your question but her mid score is 690 and yours is 693.  The lender will take the lower mid score, so while I totally understand you wanting to get the other scores up, I wouldn't stress over the 640 EQ score. 

Otherwise, pay down the paypal card, but don't pay it completely off, and gw'ing the negatives is all you can really do.  You won't see a gain until the accounts update with the lower balances.  So check to see when the statement cuts and count a 3-5 days and that's when everything should be updated.  Congrats on the preapproval! 

[bigwebb83]

how often are the good will letters successfull?

[drkaje]

Victoria's Secret and the school may show a little love. The school may be fixable with a few phone calls.

[bigwebb83]

CFNC, college foundation of north carolina basically told me that they do not adjust the items unless they are inaccurate?  We are still sending the letter but was wondering if I should push to speak with a manager?