New Here What's my next step?

[Paperboy999]

where do i start?

i guess with my history.

I had 3 cards opened back in 1999 with jcpenny, cap1 and direct merchant, i think or something like that. i used them regularly and my limits went up to 5 digits each not sure of the exact amount. i also bought a car through ford credit. Everything was going great til about 2001 then i started having money problems and both cards went ito collections. i was able to finish out the cars loan with a few late payments. Cap1 and jcp both got judgements against me which i paid but DM never did and that balance had run up to 18,000 and i never heard from them. It just fell off my report after 7 yrs from the date of default. I did receive a call from a CA about a year after asking me to pay it, they said they would take 10k and finally went down to 2k but i told them no thinking it would reopen the account and i would be liable for the full amount again. I felt bad about not paying it but i got over that pretty quickly. 

After that fell off i decided to apply for a new card. in dec of 08 i got a first premier card with a 350 limit which i used and they upped me to 450 and gave me a second card with another 350 limit. Then i got a cap1 card, 2/10, with 500 limit upped to 750 after a few months but it hasnt gone up since so i opened a secure cap1 with 1000 bucks. My score didnt change all that much with the new accounts, i was around 650ish. i was paying on time, usually paying in full but not always. 

My car took a crap last year and i needed a new one and shockingly i was approved for a 21000 loan, 3yrs at 2.9 with toyota. i was shocked but happy as a pig in poo. that was 7/11 after that i got a bloomingdales card on 9/11 with a 1300 cl, best buy card on 1/12 with a 750cl, and a raymour and flanigan card on 2/12 with a 3900 cl. i was pretty shocked with the r and f cl. I didnt apply for any new credit after that until about a month ago. I applied for a chase business card with me as guarantor and i was declined, somehwhat upsetting for me. Then i got a preapproved letter from discover and i applied on line. I didnt get the approval on line so i thought i was declined but i got a call 2 days later to verify some things and i was approved for 1500. I was so happy, my first "real" credit card. Thats when i found these boards and wow there is a lot of info here. I then checked to see if i had any offers from AMEX on their site and i did for the green and gold charge cards. I chose the green and applied and I should be receiving it with in a few days. Now i have two real cards and i'm very happy about that.

here's a quick review of my situation:

First Premier   450cl closed 2 weeks ago my request

First Premier   350cl appears to be open even though i requested it to be closed

Cap1                750 cl

Cap1  sec        1150cl

Bloomies          1300cl

Ray and Flan     3900cl  still owe 1600 interest free for a year paying 300 a month

Best Buy              750cl 

Toyota               orig 21000 still owe 14000

Discover             1500cl just received

AMEX charge      Haven't received yet

AAoA is 3.2 yrs but sure to go down on next report

that's the good,

here's the bad:

i have gone over my cl on each cap1 and first premier card

I have 5 nys tax liens, newest is from 2010, i had a payoff agreement but they stopped taking my money 

6 new accounts since 7/11

2 baddies that should be the same from verizon and from the atty that collected for verizon, i payed it off but less than full amount

Too many inquiries

my util is 45% but i plan on paying a chunk of that this week

my fico is 673-674 on the two CRB's that i can check here. 

my goal is being able to walk into a car dealership when they are having a 0 down, 0 interest sale and driving off in a new car after signing my name. not that i would do that i just want to be able to.

what's my next step?

thank you for reading

[Shogun]

You have plenty of good credit lines right now.  No need to get anymore.  Get rid of those First Premier cards, they served their purpose.  I would concentrate on the NYS tax leins right now and get those settled.  Send GWs to the verizon accts and pay down that util.   Good Luck!

[RobertEG]

Payment history, being the most significant scoring category, is worth the time to attempt to clear up.

Until your file is free of major derogs, your payment history will be scored in a less favorable "dirty file" category.

The unpaid tax liens are apt to remain as major derogs for a long time, as their 7 year exclusion period does not even begin until they are paid.

If paid, perhaps some investigation into getting the furnisher to delete.

The Verizon acct apparently has a reported collection.  What is the DOFD on the OC account with Verizon, thus determining its remaining CR inclusion period?

What derogs did Verizon report before sending to collection?

[Paperboy999]

thanks for the replies. my parment history is perfect since i got the first premier cards. 

the verizon thing is only 3 years old. i think i'm going to call them and see if i can get it deleted. 

i forgot my federal tax lien that is showing on only 2 of my reports for 100,000. i forgot to file returns for 10 years. i refiled and got it down to 65k which i will be paying back for years, it's already under 50k.

i have a question, i just got approved for amex green, would it be worth my while to call them and see if i qualify for one of their credit cards. they have a fresh report, can they just check that one to see if i qualify?