So, How Bad Is This Going To Hurt Me... (And An Overal Rebuilding Question)

[Anonymous]

I have been discussing the judgement on my credit report with the law office that sued me for a few days now. It is obvious that they are simply not going to cooperate with me when it comes to vacating the judgment. I am fairly certain I could get them to do it eventually but time is at a premium as we have a specific house we want to puchase which is set to go on the market April 2013. We need to get in and find out if we can qualify for the necessary amount of money soon. We want this house but it is my fiance's grandmother's. She wants us to have it too but needs a concrete answer so she can put it up for sale and find a buyer if we are not going to be able to purchase it. With our backs against the wall I just need to do whatever I can to improve my credit score as much as possible in the next 30-60 days. No one is going to give me a mortgage with an active, unpaid judgement on all of my credit reports. I'm going to have to pay it off and live with it on my CBR for the next 2 years.

How much is this satisfied judgment going to kill my score in that time?

I finally got to see my score go UP today after watching it steadily drop for the past couple months as I apply for and open all kinds of new accounts to establish some positive tradelines. The $1200 Visa card BoA approved me for show up today. It's a brand new tradeline but it instantly upped my total credit limit to $1800 and dropped my utilization to 26%. Once my payments to the other 2 cards show up on the CBRs I will be down to about 18% utilization.

Is there anything else I should do? I currently have a Capital One Auto Loan, $300 Cap One credit card, $300 Best Buy Rewardzone Mastercard, and the $1200 Bank of America Visa. Baddies are the afore-mentioned, soon-to-be paid judgement and an old paid charged off personal loan from HSBC that probably helps more than it hurts since it's the 2nd oldest account on my CBR. Inquiries are starting to stack up though.

Should I shoot for one more thing? Maybe a store card or gas card? Or should I stop now and just let time work its FICO magic? Keep in mind I'll be shopping for a mortgage come April.

[kjm79]

I don't know the answer to your Judgment question.  Hope that all works out for you though.

If you are really wanting to apply for a mortgage in 30-60 days, do not apply for anymore credit.  More inquires, new accounts, will only hurt you more than help.  You have enough cards and an installment loan for a nice mix of credit already.  Only thing you can do there is get the utlization lower.  Below 9% if you can, and only reporting on one card.  You already have the Judgment on your reports so your score had already taken the hit from that.  I can't see how pyaing it would lower your score, unless they update it wrong somehow.  Gettting utilization down right now is the only thing you can do.  IF things don't work out the way you want and you miss out on the house, then maybe consider getting a store or gas card.  Retails cards are still revolving accounts but add a little different mix.  I hope it all works out for you and your fiance!!