@Tabou82 wrote:
Hello Everyone! Looking for advice on how to rebuild and at least break into the 600s if possible.
Current scores per MyFICO.com:
EQ: 548
TU: 565
EX: 548
Open Credit:
Cap1 Secured - $0 Bal; $500 limit
Cap1 QS1 Rewards - $1313 Bal; $2500 limit (Planning to pay this down to about $800 before my statement cuts on the 20th)
Santander (open installement) -$20,000 Bal with REPO from Sept. ’14
Closed Debts (all debts outside of SOL but still reporting balance):
Midland Collection/Old Dell Account (that family ran up and decided not to pay) - $2700 Is the OC reporting a balance?
Capital One CO - $793 (Spoke to EO & was told that they would not remove even if PIF)
Navient/Sallie Mae CO - $4000 (Spoke to Navient Rep. & he advised same as CAP1. BTW, this is a private loan and not federal so doesn’t qualify for rehabilation)
Le sigh. All of this happened when I graduated from law school and couldn’t find a job. I had to move back in with my parents and my car was REPO’d the following year. I would like to purchase a house but it seems that I will never get on the path to home ownership. Despite being gainfully employed (salary currently above $55k but lower than $70K), I’ve been thinking about filing bankruptcy as it seems those that do have a higher credit score coming out of discharge than I have right now. Recently applied for a DiscoverIT card hoping to get apped for thier secured version and was denied. I SERIOUSLY WANT TO SCREAM because it seems nothing I do is working!
Thankful for any advice.
The recent Repo is probably whats hurting you the most at this point, simply because it is so recent. The Cap One charge off also needs to be settled because it is skewing your UTI. If the Dell account is reporting a balance by the OC, that also needs to be settled. If you get those OC revolving accounts reporting $0, then you will go a long way towards rehabbing your scores. Until then it won't help much to pay down your current card balances. If you get those settled and then get your UTI below 10% and all on one card, you'll see some decent score growth. You'll also see growth as the Repo ages.
Don't get hung up on getting deletions - you CAN rehab your scores without getting them removed. There's no reason you can't get your score into "respectable" territory once that Repo hits two years old. IMO, thats the biggest drag on your scores right now, and time is going to be you're best friend.
I would not recommend BK unless your creditors begin filing suits against you. Your income puts you right around the "auto qualify" range for BK-7. Most people come out of BK-7 with scores in the 450-500 range. Not sure about BK-13.
