Hi all,
I am new to this forum and just starting to learn about credit worthiness. I have been working on my credit now for about a year and a half and my goal is to get approved for a VA loan within the next year or two and around a 700 FICO. I started with a 481 and hired Lexington Law to help me out. They have done a wonderful job for me. As of today I am up to a 581 EXP FICO, 640 EQU FICO, and 600 TU FICO. I have been working to getting a couple of credit cards. I started with a Capital One Secured at a $250 limit and have increased it to $1,250. I have a Credit One Bank card with a $400 limit, a First Premier Bank card with a $300 limit, and just got approved a few days ago for a Capital One Quicksilver with a $500 limit. I have been doing by best to pay my cards down to a 10% balance monthly before the due date. I know that I still have collections accounts on my reports that are about 5/6 years old. I'm not trying to get out of my obligations just trying to find the best solution for better credit, but should I pay them off? If so, is there a way to have them delete them if I pay them off? My next question is how long do degrogatory items stay on your credit? Is it 7 years? Should I continue to use Lexington Law? I would greatly appreciate any help/advice. Thanks to all in advance.
