from 550's to the 640 to 680 range in 3 months. Next steps?

[houstontiger]

Long post alert:

So I rehab'd my default student loan, had erroneous accounts deleted all together and PFD'd all my collections TLs ( all medical ), leaving one Chase auto loan charge off for almost $11,000 across all CRAs.

Now my AAoA and payment history looks great and I have two small installment loans totally about $2500 with my CU showing steady payments.

This has not been gardening for me... it has been an all out battle!

My scores where in the low to mid 500's according to credit karma & myfico in August ( 8-1-13).

TODAY as of 10-20-13:

MyFico: 643 EQ ( I feel it should be higher though, I think it hasnt recalculated yet as I just had a deletion on 10-18-13 & its been at 643 for a month )

Credit Karma TU: 681 

Credit Sesame EX: 660 

Experian direct pull : 669

Question #1:

What does that make my actual fico?

I have no revolving accounts.

There are maybe 4-5 hard inquiries on my credit across the board.

Just a single student loan payment to SallieMae and the 2 personal CU installment loans at about $230 total a month.

So I've been adviced by the freebie scoring sites I should get a credit card.

Question #2:

How many cards should I apply for at one time & which ones or what types (ie; departmental | store cards / walmart / CC with my Credit Union / etc? ).

About me & my situation:

I am 33, live in TX and make over $100k a year, I am in the chex system recently due to paying my wife's medical expenses out of pocket & couldnt recover the overdrafts fast enough but I dug myself out of the hole in one month and am also wondering if I could write a GW to Chase and get out of Chex ( its only $230 and was MOSTLY overdraft fees...thanks Chase ) ( I have not paid them yet btw, this happened in September ).

At the moment I have basically no savings, but that will change within 30 days now that I'm basically out of debt & not paying hospital expenses anymore ( in the past I was able to tuck about $8,000 away a month ).

I have the following goals in the next 1 to 4 months.

• Buy my first home ( $180,000 range | within 4 months ) - Currently renting the home & have made my intentions to buy clear to the owner. 
  Will being in the chexsystem & overdrafts on my bank statements harm me, how much should I have in savings & how much should I put down?
  - ALSO should I even CONSIDER the next goal since it is a fairly high priority:

• Buy a new car ( $30,000 range | within 1 month ) - This is a very high priority as I've sacrificed taking care of my car & other things for 3 years to take care of my wife, the thing is falling apart now  

Question #3:

How many inquiries is "safe" in a what period of time ( assuming I'm getting approved for them ).

Recommendations?

I was VERY tempted to apply online with CapOne again this weekend when I saw the score increases ( I was denied last month with a 598 EQ / MyFICO ) but wonder if I should wait until the 1st of the month when my next set of payments reports to the CRAs & I might be in or closer to 700, OR should I go to my Credit Union & apply for a Discover card with them ( the higher the limit the better of course ).

What plan of action should I take to reach my goals?

I just dont want to chance some collection agency dinging me unexpectadly or shot-gunning my credit & losing my hard work & finally respectable score!

Thanks everyone!

[mebell]

Hey there, congrats on your progress!

(1) It is important to have some revolving accounts in order to improve your score. This way you can demonstrate financial responsibility by making payments and shows how you utilize the available credit that is offered to you

(2) that being said, there are many companies that offer pre-approval for CCs on their websites which do not do a HP (Cap 1, Chase, DIscover, etc.)

(3) you can try the shopping cart trick to get card offers online without doing a HP as well

(4) many store cards are easier to obtain, then VISA or MC CCs that are accepted everywhere

(5) to answer your ? about your FICO score, I don't believe anyone knows how to convert FAKOs to FICOs. FOr some people there FICO scores are higher and I have seen some people that are lower. Main places to get your FICO scores are from this website or lenders when that pull your CRs

(6) Finally, I would avoid opening several accounts right away. This will hurt your AAoA. After opening one with several months of good payment history, then maybe apply for another.

There are many people on here that can better give you information on what to do in your situation, as everyones' is different with different goals in mind. Another thing to consider is you mentioned wanting to purchase a home in 4 months. I don't know much in this area because I'm still in graduat school and will be looking soon for a home as well... that being said though, I have read that mortgage lenders do not want to see a lot of inquiries for credit right before purchasing a home. I'm not sure how accurate that is, but I read that on the forum. I hope some of this helps. Keep us updated on everything.

[klondike]

I would seriously consider not buying a car at this point for 30k. That seems like an extravagent price. Buy something cheaper that you can afford.

[houstontiger]

Follow-up:

So I talked to my credit union this morning and they said my FICO was a bit above 640.

I was approved for $30,000 auto and $5,000 mastercard at 12.9% w no annual fees.

I spoke with them at length about my plan to purchase the home I am renting and they said that getting the Credit Cards is definately going to help and secondly if I can find a vehicle under about $25k and pay the note on time for 6 months and ongoing it should have a drastic positive increase on my credit.

So. I am excited.

A question about the "shopping card trick" can someone send me a link to what that is exactly?

EDIT: Nevermind. found out all about the shopping  card trick

[mebell]

Good to hear, that most of what you were wanting has already worked out