Trying to Rebuild my Credit

[goose3500]

So where to start?  I lost my job about 4 years ago and my credit took a turn for the worst.  After I lost my job, I took on temporary assignments to make ends meet.  Last year, I was able to secure full-time employment and begin to rebuild my credit.  My first priorty was to get a modification for my home.  I was able to get a modification in Jan 16 and also got my student loans out of default status.  I opened two credit cards, hoping to pull up my credit score up.  However, I have too many collections on my credit report and I do not have the discretionary funds to pay the debts down.  All of the debts out of the SOL and will fall off in another 3 years.  My goal was to wait it out but it is hard to get a security clearance or certain employment with bad credit.  The property I own is in Washington DC, where the property value is sky high.  So my question is should I take out a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) to pay the bills off and improve my credit?  Of course, I will only ask for PFD from the collection agencies to help restore my credit.  Any imput would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks in advance!

[jmclaughlin1982]

Sounds like you're starting down a good path. Here's my two cents.
You mentioned the SOL....that will be key. Most of the time SOL for debt collection is 6 yrs. if you're past that you're talking about a yr wait for them to go away.
Sound, though, like your about 2 yrs from SOL and 3 from falling off. So...you're next question will be, was the debt sold or is it still held by your original creditor? If it's been sold its much more likely you can get rid of it.
First step I took was to ask for proof of debt from each creditor. If they don't provide it within 30 days you can get it taken off your credit report. This us much more likely if your debt has been sold. Debt buyers often can't produce proof and you're free.
If you get the proof back then my next recommendation would be ask for a settlement. Write the creditors and say, essentially, I want to settle this debt. If it will cost me more than bankruptcy then I'll just take that route. Ask for a low settlement, I'd recommend 20-39% of your debt. Request that the account be reported as paid in full. You might not get this part, but it never hurts to try. The first time I rebuilt this was the method I took. Once my creditors heard I was considering BK every one of them settled. I owed $2000 to Cap 1 debt buyer they settled for $300.
Make sure you get any debt settlement in writing before you pay them anything.
Hope this helps.