Rebuilding Your Credit

[UpAndComing74]

I have a question for all the wise.  I am attempting to take advantage of the home buyer credit before April.  My credit was horrific years ago, but Ive establised accounts that I have paid on time on time on time.  I went from a 403 in 2008 to current scores of TU 599/EQ 579/ EX 555.  The banks are telling me that I need at least a 620.  I have thre credit cards one with a $2000 kimit one with a $800 and one Target Store card with a $200 limit.  If I pay the $800 and the $200 down to 0 and the $2000 card down to $1000, does anyone think my score will rise up to the 620 range.  My current report is showing that the $2000 card is overthelimit at $2233.  The $800 card is at $803 and the $200 card is at $172.

[StarraeAday1]

I wouldn't swear to the amount of points you'll raise, but I do know from reading these forums that lowering your utilization to under 10% is one of the fastest ways to raise your score. Good luck to you!

[laz98]

your TU score might but i don't know about EQ.  EX, i would probably say no.  just guesses, though.

[BungalowMo]

You need to pay down that cc debt!  Your total owed is over your total available!  Even if you had the 620 score you need for a basic approval, they may likely deny you becasue of the maxed out cards.  They like to see responsible use of credit, timely payments & fairly low balances.

FICO is happiest with about a 7% total balance.

[UpAndComing74]

Thank-You for your advice and replies.  I played around with the Score simulator and once I pay them down it gives me a score estimation of 629-669.  I hope that estimator is accurate.  lol. 

[MarineVietVet]

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UpAndComing74 wrote:
I have a question for all the wise.  I am attempting to take advantage of the home buyer credit before April.  My credit was horrific years ago, but Ive establised accounts that I have paid on time on time on time.  I went from a 403 in 2008 to current scores of TU 599/EQ 579/ EX 555.  The banks are telling me that I need at least a 620.  I have thre credit cards one with a $2000 kimit one with a $800 and one Target Store card with a $200 limit.  If I pay the $800 and the $200 down to 0 and the $2000 card down to $1000, does anyone think my score will rise up to the 620 range.  My current report is showing that the $2000 card is overthelimit at $2233.  The $800 card is at $803 and the $200 card is at $172.

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One thing I will ask is where did you get those scores? No one has been able to pull their own Experian score since mid-February. Creditors can pull Experian and also there is a CU in Pennsylvania that supplies that information to it's members only. You can only buy true FICO scores at a few places. One place is here at myfico. I suggest you do an internet search for "myfico discount codes" to save a little money. You can also purchase your Equifax score at www.equifax.com and your Transunion score at www.transunioncs.com.

From a BK years ago to:
7/09 TU-742 EQ- 779
8/09 TU-765 EQ- 783
9/09 EX pulled by lender 802

You can do the same thing with hard work.

[UpAndComing74]

Thanks...I pulled the TU and EQ scores from this site on 12/16.  I currently subscribe to scorewatch. The Experian score was obtained from http://info.experiandirect.com/.  This site claims to be Experian.  I look forward to raising my scores.  Other then apaying off the credit cards I'm at a lost to my next steps. Do I pay the charge offs or leave them and let them fall off in 2011.  Do I dispute the inquires or do they not impact my score that much. Questions, Questions, but I'm learning, learning.

[llecs]

The link to the Experian product is OK for monitoring, and while they provide a score, it isn't a FICO score. It is called a PLUS score (a FAKO) and lenders don't use it. It can also be found on other sites like CreditExpert, Triple Advantage, Creditchecktotal, and freecreditreport.com.

I'd suggest reading What Steps Do I Take - great for learning the repair process.

Don't dispute inquiries. That's a fast way to get hit with a FA. Besides, inquiries stop hurting after 12 months and their damage is overrated anyway. I still have 20+ reporting on EQ I believe. If I add a new one, my score won't change.

[UpAndComing74]

Ok MAYDAY MAYDAY llecs.  Is FA an acronym for Fraud Alert?  The bureaus have placed one on my file for 90 days.  Is that bad thing.  The rep did it so quickly and nonchalant basedon a dispute that I filed.  I thought it was no biggie,but from the sound of your reply "Don't dispute inquiries. That's a fast way to get hit with a FA."  a fraud alert may be harming me.  If thats what FA means.  

[llecs]

FA = fraud alert.

It doesn't harm your score it just makes it very difficult to apply for credit. It's necessary if you suspect there's items, like inquiries or TLs, on your account that you suspect aren't yours. It gets triggered when you dispute stuff often as "not mine". There's a chance that it was extended to EQ and TU as well. I think by law they have to inform the other two CRAs. On a few rare occassions, disputing inquiries have led to the associated TL to close and/or disappear. But that's what you'd want to happen anyway.