Tips on Raising Score- Is This Possible?

[Anonymous]

Hello all, I'm new to the forum. I'm thinking of buying a house within the next 1-2 years. I need to raise my credit, and I want to be sure to keep up with it. Here's my info:
Scores are 535, 552, 463 (equifax, don't know why there is a huge difference).
I have 0 credit cards, 0 loans, 0 bankruptcies. I have student loans which are shown as up to date (because they are in deferral status). I have 3 old cellphone bills that are in collections- older than 2 years. I have 4 small hospital bills that are in collections (older than 2 years- I thought they would be covered by Medicaid I had at the time, but it was in a different state). And that's it! No late payments, because I don't show any open accounts. I'm going to be getting 2 secured cards and paying those on time, also thinking of getting an installment loan or something and paying that on time. Any advice? Should I attempt to pay the small medical and cell phone bills, will that do anything? Also, age of accounts is over 5 years (because of the student loans). Thanks for your help!

[Anonymous]

You're actually starting in a good spot ... so take heart, you can and will improve this  

For the cellphone collections ... try for PFDs (pay for deletes) ... If they agree, pay them off and wait for the deletes. 

For the medical bills, also try for PFDs. PFDs are not a given. Some collections agencies do it, some don't, but you won't know til you ask. If they're small amounts, just pay them if they won't do PFDs. Paid collections look better to lenders  

Get your two secured cards (you might even qualify for the Cap One Platinum card, which is unsecured). 

You might want to consider a small secured installment loan through a credit union or bank. 

You can do this 

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much for your reply! I am disappointed that I didn't buck up and try to build credit earlier, but I am determined now! I will do the PFDs and will be stopping by a local credit union to see about an account or installment loan