Rebuilding Your Credit

[Bander]

Hey, thanks for reading and any advice is greatly appreciated.

I've read plenty of the other questions and answers and blogs, but I am just really having a tough time figuring out my specific situation. What kinds of credit should I attempt to apply for if any at this time?

Ill start off with my basic details, where I stand and where I would like to be.

Any information regarding my credit is from Transunion.

My current score: 570
Desired score: 700+
1 public record (judgement from Discover)
0 accounts in collections.
0 accounts delinquent.
Credit card debt: $0.00
Auto Loan Debt: $21,500
---$453.52/mo
Student Loan Debt: $26,500
---$272.98/mo
Judgement listing : $2,450
---$200/mo - $463 remaining
Average Account Age: 7 years 8 mo
On-time payments: 85%
Previous income ~$15,000
Current income ~$85,000
Gender: Male
Age:30
Marital : Married - 1st year filing together.
Her FICO: 648

Note: At one point I had over 10 accounts in collections and delinquent status.

Major Goal: Purchase a home in the 150-200k range with a decent to good 30yr fixed.

We have 1 credit card now. It is a Capital One Rewards card unsecured. I've only had it for two months and it has been PIF all the time. But I've used it for over $2,000 in purchases so far. A bit of a hassle making a payment every 5 days, but with a $500 limit, and I really want to take advantage of the 1% cash back it seems worth it. But let me know if this should be handled differently.

The judgement is on behalf of Discover Bank, and has garnished my state taxes for the last 4 years. This year in May, I made an initial payment of $1000 and setup monthly payments for the remainder. I currently owe $463.00 on the judgement. My biggest issue with this one is that the collection agency has not made any report of payment to the state/courts or the credit bureaus. And I'm not sure if they legally have to. This will be paid in full in December of this year.

The on time payment history bothers me because it shows missed student loan payments while they were deferred. I challenged it and the only thing updated was that they are now current rather than delinquent.

The vehicle was purchased in March, financed through Capital One with a $5000 down payment but I still took a horrendous hit and accepted a 9.5% interest rate, and 9 hard credit inquiries.

--Is there any hope to refinancing a new car? Or not worth it?

So that's where I currently stand. I have hopes of purchasing a home within the next two years, but I know I desperately need to improve my credit to save myself bundles of money on a mortgage.

Is there anything I can do to have the judgement removed or at least state paid in full on my CRs?

Advice for any 18-mid 20s reading this, protect your credit it ultimately is just as important as your college degree!!! And takes even longer to fix so you can move forward in your life!!!

Looking forward to any advice and ideas of what my next moves should be. Also if any other information would help feel free to ask! (Other than my soc number )

THANKS!!

[madmann26]

That judgement is a kick in the pants. Once you pay it off, find out if you can file a motion to vacate. If you can't file it, ask Discover to file it.

With the CC, you want to let a balance report at statement cut but no more than 9% of your total revolving limit (across all cards).

I would fight tooth-and-nail with the lender of the student loans. Payment history is weighed heavily into your score. See if you can find an executive and email them the info.

[Bander]

Thanks for the tips madman.

In regards to the student loans; they are federal but now handled by a subsidiary -MOHELA. And to be honest they are absolute idiots and impossible to deal with. I really wish I could have vetoed them moving who controls my loans.

The move to vacate the judgement I had no idea about ill do that in January. Thank you!

In regards to the 9%, does this make a huge difference? Because that means I would have to have about a $45 balance at statement time, and the delay on payments posting it seems like I would probably just need to let the card rest for about a week near my statement end.

[madmann26]

On carrying a balance,

Yes, it makes that much of a difference. To FICO, you use your credit, but in a responsible manner.

[igids1]

1) Pay off the judgement, look to have it vacated. I would personally recommend speaking with a contact there, preferably a lawyer who is handling the case. Offer to pay it off entirely now if they will vacate for you. Be nice, not threatening.

2)Contact the federal student loan ombudsman about your lates. Gather all of your facts together first. Be nothing but factual, leave your opinions and slurs and derogatory remarks out.

3) apply for a walmart card now, pay on time.

Do you still have any collections showing on your reports? Even showing as paid in full? Your scores are unusually low based on what you have said. There must be other negative things.

[Bander]

Hey there igids.

Not sure how much ground I have to stand on saying ill pay off the judgement in full if you'll vacate it, since there is only $400 remaining on it and I've paid around $5000 off already.

Ill do my best to deal with the federals again. It really seems though that the people at MOHELA, are not quite familiar with the system unfortunately and are stuck to scripts. When I ask to speak to a supervisor or loan director, I am instructed to leave a phone number and they will contact me within 72 hours. I've gone this route multiple times now and have yet to get a call back, and they simply will not directly transfer me.

Sure I can probably round up a Walmart card, paying on time isn't an issue.

That's the thing, my last negative credit remark was from 2006.

Everything since then has always been taken care of and paid on time, other than the 1 full year of my student loans showing they were in default.

But as of current I have 0 late accounts, 0 accounts in collections, and the 1 judgement.

Some of the accounts in collections I had fell off due to SOL if that makes a difference.

[Bander]

Grr can't edit from phone, but I will still try my best to get the judgement vacated. It was issued in 2006, not sure how long they can stay on if a motion to vacate is denied.