Hi. First time poster here.
I used to have an excellent 750 plus credit score and over 20 years of nearly flawless credit history until October 2013. I had gotten a loan for a work van for my husband for his business. I had entrusted the payments of the van to him. Big mistake I know. Some of his clients were slow in paying him and he let the van payments slide, unbeknownst to me. The first I realized the payments were late were after the van got repossessed. I then immediately redeemed the repo and aince then have made sure the van payments are made on time.
My hubby and I are looking to buy a home in less than two years. My credit scores since the foreclosure are good enough to get a conventional mortgage, but not at the best rates. Transunion is the lowest at 684. Equifax is at 697. Experian is at 711. I understand to get good rates and terms you need about a 720. We are going to buy with me as the only borrower on the mortgage because my credit is significantly higher than hubby's and my income alone is probably enough to get the kind of house we want, which was hurt badly after his messy divorce. His is around 640.
So is it possible for me to increase my credit around 50 points in 1.5 years? The biggest thing affecting my credit right now according to TU is the repo, but I also have a lot of credit card debt that we are now aggressively paying down. I'm hoping the combo of the passage of time and the paying down of the debt will get us to the 720 mark. Or should we consider a GW letter or other means of getting the repo removed from my credit history? Any advice is appreciated!!
P.S. I know my hubby sounds like a very irresponsible person from what I've posted. He's really not bad at all. He's just not that credit savvy and is uncomfortable with loans or credit of any kind. Although I have the better credit, he is actually better at sticking to a budget. Ironcially, for me, my spendthrift ways over the years have earned me a high credit score because I have a pattern of generating large balances which I pay off over time.--the credit card companies ideal customer. We have worked on our communications about finances and I have resolved to pay more attention to any loans I take out on his behalf.
