cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Trying to find our way to a home this year.....

tag
Anonymous
Not applicable

Trying to find our way to a home this year.....

Hi Everyone, I'm hoping some of the other wise and all knowing gurus out there can give us some advice.

 

2007-2009 roughed us up pretty bad- we're trying to get into a house this year. So we need to get a min of 620 each

 

This is the status of our credit report at this time. 

 

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

 

My score is a 583 as of today

 

It actually went up 7 points since December 21 from my Macys card being reinstated w/ a $255 line.

 

My prior Macys card (They gave me a new account #) is still reporting as a paid charge-off.  I'm going to GW this consistently.

 

I have 2 First Premier C.Cards reporting as paid collections- Once again try for GW letters to purge these. 

 

We had a checking account that got overdrawn and sent to collections that was PIF- GW letters to try to purge.

 

2 NelNet accounts one @ 29,746 and one @ 16,181.  Both are reporting 120 days late Dec 2007- I'm going to GW these

 

I have a Collection agency that is reporting as an account- not a collection.  It has been paid but it's claiming 1 120 day late in July 2009.  I'm getting a paid letter from them ( Have to call and hound them about it again today- I paid in October and never got a letter.) I've disputed this previously but the CRA's keep getting verification from the CA on this one.

 

1 old Badcock account still showing 100% pays as agreed

 

1 new joint Badcock account opened in November w/ $1066 balance.  The credit limit is showing incorrectly on this account- the Limit is $3000, it's reporting as $1200.  I've disputed this w/ the CRA's and I'm waiting for a response.  I think that's why this new account dropped my Fico score 30 points from what it was in October.  We will have this balance pif by March. 

 

15 old paid accounts all showing paid as agreed w/ 0 balances and limits

 

5 credit inquiries over the last 6 months.  2 should expire this month- The others are October-December so won't fall off soon.

 

I have one collection still showing unpaid even though it has been- Dispute and GW letters should hopefully clear it up.

 

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

My husbands score is 601

 

He has 2 paid after collections accounts showing-

 

One was from an old c.card bill which we settled years ago.

the other is the overdrawn bank account above.  We're hoping goodwill letters will help clear them up

 

His only open account is the Badcock account listed above. It dropped his score 30 points as well when it reported.

 

We have the same credit applications so those are the same as well. 

 

 

So, except for the GW letters and the one dispute we have open we've scrubbed our reports as best as we can. 

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

Our question is this- Where do we go from here?

 

We're considering a secured credit card to try to boost our scores, and can do up to $2000 combined.  Any advice on how to rebuild would be greatly appreciated.   

 

Message 1 of 6
5 REPLIES 5
llecs
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Trying to find our way to a home this year.....

You are on the right track. Persistence is key.

 

I'd send out GWs to the CA (one reporting the 120). IMO, they shouldn't report as an account or even report lates, but I see nothing that prevents them from doing so. FICO score-wise, it doesn't matter. FICO reads the worst delinquncy above all others and that is the collection itself. Nonetheless, you'd want it off.

 

Do nothing to old Babcock furniture account.

 

For the new one, is it only reporting this way on TU? There's a quirk with TU and some accounts whereby they only report the high balance, vs. the CL. My Macys furniture account is like this. When it first reported, it reported as if it was a maxed account. There's nothing that can be done other than pay it down. Also, new accounts will drop your score. On avg. I have lost about 20 points with each new TL reporting. The damage wears off within 6-12 months. BTW, a dispute would remove the bal. and CL from scoring temporarily. That can have a positive or negative score impact.

 

Do nothing with the old accounts. If the accounts are closed, the CL no longer helps. So, in the future, if you see $0 for a CL, ignore it.

 

Ignore the inquiries.

 

Keep doing what you are doing. Buy lots of stamps. IMO, don't get a CC. Your mix is fine and adding another card would hurt and not help your score.

 

 

Message 2 of 6
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Trying to find our way to a home this year.....

The new badcock line is reporting to all 3 CRA's w/ that credit limit.  They claim they'll fix it when they report next quarter.  I'm undecided as to whether or not to trust in them on that one.  The next report will probably be March.

 

Do you think my husband will be ok with only the badcock line reporting as open credit?

 

 

Message 3 of 6
llecs
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Trying to find our way to a home this year.....


heatherskib wrote:

Do you think my husband will be ok with only the badcock line reporting as open credit?

 


Yea...temporarily. Once it gets paid off, then it may be treated differently, depending on how it is scored. If possible, and if the account is baddie-free, try adding him to one of your First Premiers, preferably the oldest. If not, then increase the scores and try for a secured something once his two FICO scores hit 600. I started with a secured card and it helped quite a bit.

Message 4 of 6
JenThompson777
Valued Member

Re: Trying to find our way to a home this year.....

Good luck to you & your hubby.  My hubby & I are also trying to get to 620 so we can get a house this year too.  He's already there, but I have some things to work on similar to yours.  I have sent 5 recent GW letters, about a week ago, and have had no response.  I think that's the most frustrating part because its just up in the air... they may or may not respond, they may or may not accept it. 

 

\I'm struggling with the GW letter idea.  Should I keep resending the same letter until someone answers, and if so, how often do I send them off?  Or - will this just backfire, annoy the creditors and have them ignore me?  Ahhhh yes, rebuilding credit is like playing chess!!

 

Again good luck. Keep us posted with how things go.

Message 5 of 6
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Trying to find our way to a home this year.....

Both of my First Premiers are cosed, and I don't ever want to deal with them again.  The only open lines I have are my 2 student loans, the macys card and the joint Badcock account.
Message 6 of 6
Advertiser Disclosure: The offers that appear on this site are from third party advertisers from whom FICO receives compensation.