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I have been lurking on this board for about six months now and finally decided to create an account and make my first post. I have not checked my actual FICO but CreditKarma.com has me around 630 which is up quite a bit from one year ago. I currently have an Orchard Bank card that was just raised from $300 to $450 which I have had since April and also my girlfriend signed me up as an authorized user on her $500 BECU Visa card which she has had since 2005. We keep our utilization right around 10% each month and I have been making sure to not go late on any bills. Well on to my questions. I just pulled my Experian report and would like your knowledgeable opinions on what actions I should take.
Item 1- NCC Business Services:
Account type- Collections
Account scheduled to continue on record until June 2013
Recent Balance- $500
Responsibility- Joint with xxx
This account happened when I was living in another state and came home when my father passed away. I gave my roommate my share of rent but his check bounced and we were evicted. He was supposed to take care of it but obviously didn't. I know this is coming off soon but my girlfriend and I would like to start looking for a house to buy soon as our lease is up in July. I could do a PFD if you guys think that would work.
Item2- Merchants Credit
Account Type- Collections
Will not fall off until 2015
Balance- $84
Comments-Medical
I do not know what this is from as this is the first I have seen of this. Since it is such a small amount I have no problem doing a PFD. Do you think this is my best route?
Items 3,4,5 are all with Sallie Mae
Account Type- Collections
Scheduled to fall of December 2013
Statements: Paid in settlement Paid Off, Transferred Closed, Transferred To Another Lender
The first account I did a settlement with a collection agency before I read these boards and did not ask for a PFD. The second says transferred to other lender and the third says transferred to another lender. I think all three of these loans were grouped together when I paid the CA.
Ok so there are my baddies. Please any advice would be great. Also, there are two addresses on my report that I never lived at. Should I send disputes to all three asking for these to be removed?
Welcome to the forums!
The first account is scheduled to fall off, but you need it dealt with sooner. PFD would probably be the best route for this account. The next would be paying it down if they just will not budge on a PFD because you probably won't get a mortgage with any outstanding collections on your credit report.
The second account...medical? Don't know what it is? DV them. Get all information you can about the validity of this debt. If it is yours and it is verified, offer to PFD. Again, the worst case scenario is you pay the relatively low amount so you can get the mortgage if they absolutely will not budge on a PFD.
I have no idea at all about the Sallie Mae's. My initial thought is "good luck on that one" but I wish I had a better outlook on it. I am sure someone on these boards is familiar with what you can do on that. I am in a credit rebuilding stage myself and this information is just my interpretation of what I have read and been told. There are other far more knowledgeable members that I am sure will be on to provide you with the exact information or better for that matter. Good luck to you on the purchase of your home!
@Anonymous wrote:I have been lurking on this board for about six months now and finally decided to create an account and make my first post. I have not checked my actual FICO but CreditKarma.com has me around 630 which is up quite a bit from one year ago. I currently have an Orchard Bank card that was just raised from $300 to $450 which I have had since April and also my girlfriend signed me up as an authorized user on her $500 BECU Visa card which she has had since 2005. We keep our utilization right around 10% each month and I have been making sure to not go late on any bills. Well on to my questions. I just pulled my Experian report and would like your knowledgeable opinions on what actions I should take.
Item 1- NCC Business Services:
Account type- Collections
Account scheduled to continue on record until June 2013
Recent Balance- $500
Responsibility- Joint with xxx
This account happened when I was living in another state and came home when my father passed away. I gave my roommate my share of rent but his check bounced and we were evicted. He was supposed to take care of it but obviously didn't. I know this is coming off soon but my girlfriend and I would like to start looking for a house to buy soon as our lease is up in July. I could do a PFD if you guys think that would work.
This account is at the end of life. You could try for a PFD, also see if you can get a bargain. Offer $200, see what they say.
Item2- Merchants Credit
Account Type- Collections
Will not fall off until 2015
Balance- $84
Comments-Medical
I do not know what this is from as this is the first I have seen of this. Since it is such a small amount I have no problem doing a PFD. Do you think this is my best route?
Send them a DV, find out exactly what it's for, it's old too. If they validate, send a PFD.
Items 3,4,5 are all with Sallie Mae
Account Type- Collections
Scheduled to fall of December 2013
Statements: Paid in settlement Paid Off, Transferred Closed, Transferred To Another Lender
Send a GW for these.
The first account I did a settlement with a collection agency before I read these boards and did not ask for a PFD. The second says transferred to other lender and the third says transferred to another lender. I think all three of these loans were grouped together when I paid the CA.
Ok so there are my baddies. Please any advice would be great. Also, there are two addresses on my report that I never lived at. Should I send disputes to all three asking for these to be removed?
Yes, you can dispute those off.
Actually you're in pretty good shape. These are all odd accounts and would be off in a year on their own. Good Luck!
Thank you both very much.
Shogun,
You wrote, "This account is at the end of life. You could try for a PFD, also see if you can get a bargain. Offer $200, see what they say."
I would love to do this. I remember seeing some pre-written letters that basically are saying that I am in no way acknowledging that this debt is mine, but if you can show me it is would you be willing to take xxx amount of money for a deletion. This way you do not start the 7 years over again. Do I have this correct, and if so any link to said example letters?
Also, I understand my first step s to try and remove any old or incorrect addresses, but after that should I GW Sallie Mae, and then attempt the PDF with the medical collections and the rental collections? I really don't want to start the 7 years over, and would just wait but I know that nobody likes giving out mortgages with collections on your record.
Exactly. Never acknowledge the debt. Even if you pay it, don't acknowledge it. You can put in the letter that this debt is near the CRTP limit and past the SOL. That might give them a kick in the rear to accept it.
Most mortgage lender will want collections paid, they don't want the possibility of liens being put on the property.
Bump.
I'm preparing a GW for Sallie Mae. Anyone had any luck with them? Also, any other tips for my current situation?
I sent a GW to Sallie Mae through email to the CEO (or so I think) and to their office. I also sent a PFD to both of my collections so I have my fingers crossed waiting for some kind of response. Anything else anyone sees I can do to improve my scores?
Would it be wise to send PFD in Email or should you strictly send them via mail?
Send them as many ways as you can to a handful of different higher ups.
I just received a bill in the mail from Merchants Credit Association so they obviously received my pfd letter but they did not mention anything for a pfd. Should I send another pfd? I can't seem to find any email information to email a pfd. This is my first attempt at a pfd and I am uncertain of which direction to go.