Newbie needs some advice about first steps

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone, I'm brand new to the forum. This past week I've been doing a lot of research here and on other websites, trying to become familiar with all the terms and procedures. I'm still unsure about how to deal with my current situation, and would really appreciate any advice I can get from you more knowledable and seasoned forum members.

Here's a summary of my situation: I went through hard time in my personal life last winter, couldn't pay my credit card bills, panicked and ignored the issue for more than six months. Now my 7 credit cards are all listed as charge-offs on my credit report (since June), a total of around 15k in debt. My credit score is very poor. I have received letters and phone calls from collection agencies (that I haven't answered). Nothing has showed up in the Collections section of my credit report yet. I live in California.

Obviously a lot of damage has been done. So what should I do know? Specifically:

1. Two of the debts are for under $500, and I could probably pay those off in full in a couple of months, if that's a good idea. How do I figure out if my debts are owned by the bank still or by a collection agency?

2. My fiance, who has great credit, has added me as an authorized user to his credit cards. I've already seen an increase in my credit score. What else can I do to improve it? Is applying for a secured credit card a good idea? Or should I just use one of the cards I'm an authorized user for (and pay them off in full every month, of course)?

3. My fiance and I will probably have to apply for a mortgage in around 4 years. Am I totally screwed?

Any advice is appreciated!

[gdale6]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi everyone, I'm brand new to the forum. This past week I've been doing a lot of research here and on other websites, trying to become familiar with all the terms and procedures. I'm still unsure about how to deal with my current situation, and would really appreciate any advice I can get from you more knowledable and seasoned forum members.

Here's a summary of my situation: I went through hard time in my personal life last winter, couldn't pay my credit card bills, panicked and ignored the issue for more than six months. Now my 7 credit cards are all listed as charge-offs on my credit report (since June), a total of around 15k in debt. My credit score is very poor. I have received letters and phone calls from collection agencies (that I haven't answered). Nothing has showed up in the Collections section of my credit report yet. I live in California.

Obviously a lot of damage has been done. So what should I do know? Specifically:

1. Two of the debts are for under $500, and I could probably pay those off in full in a couple of months, if that's a good idea. How do I figure out if my debts are owned by the bank still or by a collection agency? If the OC is reporting a balance they most likely still own the account and the CA is just collecting on their behalf.

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/PFD-Q-amp-A-Examples-and-PFD-Success-Stories/td-p/2031275

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/PFD-Example-Letter/td-p/4519

2. My fiance, who has great credit, has added me as an authorized user to his credit cards. I've already seen an increase in my credit score. What else can I do to improve it? Is applying for a secured credit card a good idea? Or should I just use one of the cards I'm an authorized user for (and pay them off in full every month, of course)?  You want 3 cards in your own name, preferrably bankcards and yes if you have no unsecured then getting secured is a good idea.  http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/Secured-Cards-Database/td-p/3846302

3. My fiance and I will probably have to apply for a mortgage in around 4 years. Am I totally screwed?  Nope, start now rebuilding and you will be good in 4 years, even sooner if you do things the right way. Welcome to myFico

Any advice is appreciated!

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[Anonymous]

Welcome to MyFico. The above advice is good. 4 years is a long way off. By starting to correct things now you should be in good shape by then. I would definitely start with the ones you can pay off then move from there. If you want a secured card that doesn't do a credit check, look at Open Sky, they have been good to me. Good luck!