cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Rebuilding Journey (Home ownership goal and dealing with FCO apartment collection)

tag
andemalia
Contributor

Rebuilding Journey (Home ownership goal and dealing with FCO apartment collection)

Hello all

 

I have been rebuilding for about 4 months now.

My scores havent improved that much (Fico 573 to about 607 now). 

I went from having 4/5 collections on my reports to having 2 left. 

One of them is midland with whom I have tried PFD, they instead added that I am disputing the debt.

My most important concern is this $1248 with FCO for an apartment from which we moved out in August 2012. It was reported in march 2013; I know the debt is ours and won't go into the details of the how and why but was ready to pay it in full for deletion. I just spoke with a manager at FCO and he told me they simply don't do that period. 

The best he could go is a letter stating it's paid in full in addition to reporting it as PIF but that won't help me scorewise although I know I will need to pay it anyhow an should work on it soon.

I am just trying to have a look at my credit repairing strategy as a whole. 

Midland ($1089 but has been offering me settlement letters for $600) and FCO are the last collections on 2 of my reports and I want them gone. Should I just PIF fo FCO? For Midland, the SOL has expired so wont PIF unless they accept PFD.

I have gotten 2 secured CC, BoA and Cap1 both for $300. I am about to add some cash to the Cap1 to increase the limit.

I got 2 collections deleted.

I have no lates since Nov 2012 except for the Midland updating in Dec2012 and FCO in March 2013.

I just refinanced my car loan with cap1 for $8500 at 16% after a previous loan for $10,000 for 24% with another lender with no lates (had it for 8 months until refinance).

My ideal situation would be to move from the townhouse that I rent into an apartment in May when my lease is over so that I can save on utilities and continue saving for a downpayment and apply for a mortgage in about a year from now. 

- The FCO collection is preventing me from getting an apartment

- Can I grow my credit to low 700s in a year just by keeping my utl 0-10% on my CC and no lates, without the FCO being removed? I am sure Midland will delete at some point since SOL are expired

- Will the PIF FCO apartment collection prevent me from getting a mortgage if my credit score isn't in the 700s, say only high 600s?

My score has been stagnant for the past 2 months despite keeping util at less than 20%. I went from no cc to 2 cc.What else should I do?

Thanks for your help, good people!

 

01/15 EQ 663 TU 669 EX 674 09/14 EQ 653 TU 635 EX 651
10/13 EQ 579 TU 580 EX 598
BoA 1.5k I Cap1Sec 0.6k I Cap1 QS 6k I Synchrony 1k I Barclays 1k
- Goals - Refi car loan 24% to 15% 12/13
Buy a home spring 2015: in progress; Pay off car loan spring 2016 balance $6200
Message 1 of 10
9 REPLIES 9
guiness56
Epic Contributor

Re: FCO apartment collection refusing PFD, what do I do?

The FCO could prevent you from a mortgage because it is so new.  That would be up to the LO/UW  and the type of loan you are looking at.  Plus paying it would probably be a requirement anyway.

 

Can you contact the apartment where the collections came from and see if you can pay them directly and have them recall the collections from FCO?  If they still own it, it is a possibility.

 

As for Midland, you may need to pay it first then barage them with GW letters.  They may be hard to deal with but they do delete.

Message 2 of 10
rckstrscott
Valued Contributor

Re: FCO apartment collection refusing PFD, what do I do?


@guiness56 wrote:

The FCO could prevent you from a mortgage because it is so new.  That would be up to the LO/UW  and the type of loan you are looking at.  Plus paying it would probably be a requirement anyway.

 

Can you contact the apartment where the collections came from and see if you can pay them directly and have them recall the collections from FCO?  If they still own it, it is a possibility.

 

As for Midland, you may need to pay it first then barage them with GW letters.  They may be hard to deal with but they do delete.


I agree wil Guiness 100 percent. FCO is almost impossible to deal with. I had 27 collection accounts when I started, and they were by FAR the hardest. They did not negotiate and it took me almost 3 years to get them off my credit report AFTER I paid it, and ONLY because I was able to beg the OC to ask them to remove it after the fact. FCO and Hunter Warfield were once one company, and they both have the same "we never work with creditor' policy.

 

I would contact the OC (apartment complex) and beg them. It may be you only viable option with them.

 

-scott

Starting FICO Score: October 2010: TU 498 | EQ: 502
Current FICO Scores:: May 2022: TU: 784 | EQ: 770 | EX: 790
Message 3 of 10
andemalia
Contributor

Re: FCO apartment collection refusing PFD, what do I do?

Hey all,

 

Some updates after not posting in so long. First thanks to guiness and rckstrscott for your contributions!!

 

Midland did delete after I was getting ready to send a second PFD letter. They had never responded to the first one. I never had to pay them. Oh well...

The apartment collection with FCO is still there. I paid it off end of January this year. This shows as paid in full but would prefer it gone. So I'll try a few strategies. This is my newest collection after Midland deleted. I guess it starts aging from the last time it was updated? 

 

We ended up moving out of townhouse that we were renting for $2000 (rommate was paying $750). We were approved for the apartment easily. I do have to add that I was hired by the client company where I work (I have been working for a staffing agency for the past 2 and a half year and everytime my contract is up and there are talks or turning me into perm they would pull me out and send me some other place) so that was an increase in income.

 

My credit has been cleaned up pretty good except for a few things but I have not that big of an increase in score. However, I felt like I have learned so much and the lessons are invaluable. My EQ as of today is 627 with the paid medical collection from 2010 and the FCO collection from March 2013 PIF in January 2014. 

 

I started this process with no credit cards. I got a secure one from BoA in October 2013 then another secured from Cap1 in December 2013 and refinanced our car $8500 at almost 16% from 24% in December 2013. We kept our balances under 20% except once or twice and aways paid on time.

 

In early June, our $300 secure cap1 CC automatically double its limit at $600 without us asking. So we decided we wanted new furniture and decided to apply for financing for about $800 at the furniture store. We were instantly approved for $1000 from GE RCB 6 months no interest.

That gave us a boost of confidence. So we came home a few days later applied for the Cap1 Quicksilver credit card. Credit karma said our odds were very good and we established a good rship with Cap1 with the secure CC and the car loan. We were approved for $2000. We were ecstatic and said no more until October when our BoA secure would be 12 months old.

Haha!! We had the itch and although the guy at the bank had told us the card doesnt graduate and they would not be any limit increase unless we put money on it, I had read otherwise on credit karma. We call the number in the back of the card and they unsecured the card, raised the limit to $1500 and refunded out $300 within 5 minutes. We got excited and applied a few minutes later for the Barclay Rewards card, got approved for $1k.

Now we are truly in the garden with 8 inquiries in the past year (including apartment credit check and verizon credit check).

 

Our next goal is get to the 700 or at least high 600 by the end of the year for a home. Our strategy will include try a delete with FCO and keeping our balances under 20%, closer to 10% if possible. And also set up out budget so that we are ready to apply for a mortgage loan right after we get some tax refund money back.

I am not sure how fast we can get to 700 just with the CC but I guess we will be finding out...

 

I will keep you all posted!!

 

Thanks everyone for contributions and inspiration. I learned almost everything from here and I am so immensily grateful Smiley Wink

01/15 EQ 663 TU 669 EX 674 09/14 EQ 653 TU 635 EX 651
10/13 EQ 579 TU 580 EX 598
BoA 1.5k I Cap1Sec 0.6k I Cap1 QS 6k I Synchrony 1k I Barclays 1k
- Goals - Refi car loan 24% to 15% 12/13
Buy a home spring 2015: in progress; Pay off car loan spring 2016 balance $6200
Message 4 of 10
andemalia
Contributor

Re: FCO apartment collection refusing PFD, what do I do?

Hello all,

 

I am determined the tackle the rest of the collections I have left. FCO aparment collection which I paid early this year is on all 3 reports and would love to get it off. Someone suggested to contact and beg the original creditor. I had called the OC but the lady, with a very sweet voice, said she couln't help me.

I just did some research and just typed up a letter for the CEO of home properties, the OC.

I wanted some input. From what I read, he is a nice, down to earth guy who comes from having very little growing up, he has a great sense of humor and put people first, so I used of of that for my letter. The letter is lengthy but I feel like it says everything I want to say. I am thinking of getting a card with some humor and sticking the letter inside with and attaching my account info and all that. what do you all think?

Here is the letter

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

andemalia

xxx any street NW, Apt xx

anytown, MD zipcode

 

Mr Exxx J. Pxxxx

President and CEO

Home Properties, Inc.

 

Dear Mr E,

 

I am truly appreciative for the few minutes you are taking to read through this letter. I am writing to humbly ask for your assistance regarding an entry on my credit report, which is the only obstacle standing in the way of my ability to provide a home for my family.

 

In June 2012, I moved out from a tiny 735-square foot Cider Mill Apartments, in Gaithersburg, Maryland, then owned by Home Properties. I lost my job a couple of months before the end of my one-year lease and was no longer able to rent a place of my own. I was faced with making the choice of using part of the reserves I had saved for either paying for the last month of rent at my Cider Mill apartment or use it for living and job search expenses until I could find another job. The honest man in me would have paid his rent as I always have; but the worried kid in me decided not to, concerned that finding a job (any job at this point) in this economy would take longer than hoped. Consequently I was sent to collections.

I did find job a few months later, after nonstop applying, asking, calling, searching and knocking on doors. It was a temporary 3-weeks assignment with a temporary agency that ended up lasting 2 and half years, because like you, “I work hard, and play hard” (but play frugally…). No benefits, no medical insurance, no sick days, no holiday pay, but like you “I love getting up every morning and I love coming to work”.

The last client company where I was sent to decided to buy me out and I finally find myself with a decent job with great benefits and great opportunities for advancement three years after my Cider Mill time.

Climbing the ladder does not always go as fast as I would like to especially because taking care of 6 siblings stood in the way of my own professional and financial goals for a long time. But I am now going to school full-time, working full-time, working on a side business and pushing as hard as I can.

I have since gotten married, and became a father. I have also paid the collection in full and it is reporting as such on my credit report but because it is still considered a delinquency, it is preventing my securing a home loan. I have pleaded with the collection agency (Fair Collection Outsourcing) to exercise its discretion to perform a goodwill removal of the tradeline. I was told “we do not remove or delete even after paying in full” which is the policy of a few collections agency.

 

Sir, I acknowledge my responsibility and know that the tradeline is accurately reported, but I also know that the original creditor, Home Properties, is the only party with the authority to request that the collection agency delete the entire tradeline.

 

Mr Edward, I did some research merely to find some contact information for Home Properties. Instead I learned about you: a humble, determined yet down-to-earth individual who puts people first in your everyday professional dealings. From a not so privileged background, your “energy, drive and determination” has catapulted you on an impressive career track in the business world but you never lost sight of the community.

Ms Edward, I humbly and kindly ask for your assistance in this matter. I am actually begging…

 

Sincerely,

 

andemalia

01/15 EQ 663 TU 669 EX 674 09/14 EQ 653 TU 635 EX 651
10/13 EQ 579 TU 580 EX 598
BoA 1.5k I Cap1Sec 0.6k I Cap1 QS 6k I Synchrony 1k I Barclays 1k
- Goals - Refi car loan 24% to 15% 12/13
Buy a home spring 2015: in progress; Pay off car loan spring 2016 balance $6200
Message 5 of 10
andemalia
Contributor

Summary of the rebuilding process

I realized I really wasn't updating that often so I will try to post frequently.

Back in October 2013 when I started the rebuilding process, I had no credit cards open, about 4/5 collections and countless lates and finally only a couple of positive tradelines which were all closed.

My scores were EQ 573 TU 580 EX 597

As of earlier this month my scores are EQ 638 TU 635 EX 651

I have 5 credit cards accounts  BankAmericard 0/1500 (was converted from a secured $300 after about 8 months, it was the first cc I got in october of last year)

                                                         Cap1 platinum Secured 0/600 ( I appd for this about 2 months after the secured BoA, got an automatic increase from $300 after 5 months

                                                         Cap1 Quiksilver 0/2000 (I applied for this in June after 6 months with the cap1 secured and 7 months with car loan)

                                                          Barclaycard 46/1000 (I applied for this in July)

                                                          Synchrony (GE CRB) 692/1000 - I just paid about $150 on this so hoping for a few points when this posts in a couple of days.

 

I have a Cap1 car loan (refinanced from 24% with some other company to 15% and wished my car was under 100k so that I could attempt another refinance). I also have about $25k student loans.

We are hoping for a mortgage early next year and really don't have that much cash saved so hopin to get our scores as high as possible. Our credit union offers a no down payment program for credit score 720 and up. So we will where we stand.

 

As of today we have:

EQ 2 collections ( fco and CBNA )

TU 1 collection ( fco)

EX 2 collections (fco and CatLegal)

 

Working on bugging the ceo for the oc for the fco collection for a delete. We will see how it goes...

01/15 EQ 663 TU 669 EX 674 09/14 EQ 653 TU 635 EX 651
10/13 EQ 579 TU 580 EX 598
BoA 1.5k I Cap1Sec 0.6k I Cap1 QS 6k I Synchrony 1k I Barclays 1k
- Goals - Refi car loan 24% to 15% 12/13
Buy a home spring 2015: in progress; Pay off car loan spring 2016 balance $6200
Message 6 of 10
andemalia
Contributor

Re: Summary of the rebuilding process

I just got a +15 increase on my EQ!! (and maybe on the other ones too)

Well, the balance on my Synchrony (GE CRB) was $692 and I paid $150 on it, bringing the balance to $542/1000, It's my highest CC balance  with the others being at 0/600, 0/1000 153/1500 187/2000. My EQ just went up 15 points. It reports to all 3 but have no way of knowing the scores for Fico TU and EX given that I do not have the 3 in 1 monitoring.

So scores were : on 9/12/2014 EQ 635 TU 635 EX 651

                           on 9/25/2014 EQ 638, paid my BoA from $153/1500 to a 0 balance, not sure what the other ones are

                      today 10/1/2014 EQ 653, paid my Synchrony $692 to $542/1000, not sure what the other ones are

 My October goal is to 640+ for all scores and October 19 is my one year anniversary of creduit rebuilding and signing up on here. So maybe ill by one on that day or by the end of the month!! 

 

Keep pushing people! Keep pushing...

 

 

01/15 EQ 663 TU 669 EX 674 09/14 EQ 653 TU 635 EX 651
10/13 EQ 579 TU 580 EX 598
BoA 1.5k I Cap1Sec 0.6k I Cap1 QS 6k I Synchrony 1k I Barclays 1k
- Goals - Refi car loan 24% to 15% 12/13
Buy a home spring 2015: in progress; Pay off car loan spring 2016 balance $6200
Message 7 of 10
andemalia
Contributor

credit card strategy

I know this is not news to most people on here but we have decided to make sure that we can work towards the 9% utilization on one card and 0 on the rest.

I will update as I get the balances down and document the points gain if any.

 

                     current balance      nxt payment     next expected bal.       due date     point gain EQ     TU    EX

Synchrony       692/1000  69%         $150                 542  54%                Oct 1st                      +15       not sure  

Cap1 Secure     0/1000    0%             $0                     0                            Oct 8th     will charge and pay off about $5 or so                     

Cap1 QS          187/2000                   $187                 0                            Oct 8th

BoA                  153/1500                   $153                 0                            Oct 15th

Barclays             47/1000                   $47                   0                            Oct 18th

 

And just a snapshot of where we came from:

                          EQ     TU      EXP

October 2012    573    589     590   First fico pull

Dec 2012          600                        Secure credit card posted, new refinanced with Cap1

April 2013         620                        4/5 months CC history

July 2013          627                        2 collections removed, 3 CC added, 2 CLI increases

Sept  2013        638    635     651

Oct 2013           651 

 

Note: we had a lot of ups and downs in between those numbers, with inquiries, lower AAoA, new balances etc, but I only used the dates corresponding to when the scores stabilized, went up from the previous lower number and never went back down.

It's been a slow but steady ride up and I prefer that, knowing that the causes behind the scores are taken care of and that my scores are solid.

 

01/15 EQ 663 TU 669 EX 674 09/14 EQ 653 TU 635 EX 651
10/13 EQ 579 TU 580 EX 598
BoA 1.5k I Cap1Sec 0.6k I Cap1 QS 6k I Synchrony 1k I Barclays 1k
- Goals - Refi car loan 24% to 15% 12/13
Buy a home spring 2015: in progress; Pay off car loan spring 2016 balance $6200
Message 8 of 10
andemalia
Contributor

Rebuilding Journey (Home ownership goal reached!)

Hello everyone,

 

I haven't updated this thread in a while and just wanted to give a glimpse of where we came from and where we are now.

First off: we received our FINAL APPROVAL for a mortgage and we are closing TOMORROW!!!

This would NOT have been possible without the unvaluable advice I received from various knowledgeable and kind members, which helped me improve my credit. As of January 2015 my scores were EQ 663 TU 669  EXP 674.

 

 

                  balance August 2014            update March 2015

Synchrony      690/1000  69%        0 balance    will not use it or close it

Cap1 Secure     0/1000    0%         0 balance    rarely use it, pay it off in full                  

Cap1 QS          187/2000               0 balance pay it off in full - charge monthly - 2nd automatic limit increase; limit is now $4,000

BoA                  153/1500               0 balance pay it off in full - charge monthly 

Barclays             47/1000               0 balance pay it off in full - charge monthly

 

And just a snapshot of where we came from:

                          EQ     TU      EXP

October 2012    573    589     590   First fico pull

Dec 2012          600                        Secure credit card posted, new refinanced with Cap1

April 2013         620                        4/5 months CC history

July 2013          627                        2 collections removed, 3 CC added, 2 CLI increases

Sept  2013        638    635     651

Oct 2013           651 

January 2015    663   669      674  1 collection over 2 years old, 5 credit cards, 4 unsecured, total limit $8,100

 

 

 

Note: we had a lot of ups and downs in between those numbers, with inquiries, lower AAoA, new balances etc, but I only used the dates corresponding to when the scores stabilized, went up from the previous lower number and never went back down.

It's been a slow but steady ride up and I prefer that, knowing that the causes behind the scores are taken care of and that my scores are solid.

 

01/15 EQ 663 TU 669 EX 674 09/14 EQ 653 TU 635 EX 651
10/13 EQ 579 TU 580 EX 598
BoA 1.5k I Cap1Sec 0.6k I Cap1 QS 6k I Synchrony 1k I Barclays 1k
- Goals - Refi car loan 24% to 15% 12/13
Buy a home spring 2015: in progress; Pay off car loan spring 2016 balance $6200
Message 9 of 10
gdale6
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Rebuilding Journey (Home ownership goal reached!)

Great progress, grats on your new home, enjoy it Smiley Happy

Message 10 of 10
Advertiser Disclosure: The offers that appear on this site are from third party advertisers from whom FICO receives compensation.