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Hi All-I'm new to the forum but wanted to start after reading some of the really motivating and educating info. My situation is a chapter 7 discharged 12/10. My perfect credit was destroyed by my choice to purchase an unsuccessful franchise with a terrible partner that did not bring a dime to the table. Lost everything. I feel like I'm 18 again but starting with horrible credit. I've owned 4 homes and now I have to rent. I need to buy a house. I'm 49 and feel I'll never be able to retire without becoming a homeowner again. I have not tried to get a mortgage and won't until I raise my score. I'm here to learn more. I'm hoping the FHA will put more pressure on lenders to relaze their overlays. I really don't know what my real scores are because I'm too cheap to pay for them. I did get a free true FICO from this site on Dec 5, 2011 (568). Recently, one month later, I tried Credit Karma (638) and Credit Sesame (601). I really don't know exactly where I'm starting I just know it's not good. I do know that I would love to work up to 740. Don't know if it's possible. Any advice? All of you seem really down to earth. Thanks and let's keep chatting...
Hello tyboge and welcome to the forums.
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--MarineVietVet, myFICO moderator
Welcome to the Forums!
It's hard to believe that a year ago, I couldn't get approved for a decent card or limit if my life depended on it. This new year, a brand new goal. 790+ by the end of the year! Good luck to all and I wish you the best. It is my hope that I can be of some assistance to those just starting like the great individuals here have been for me.
Hi everyone, I'm new here!
A little history: I am 24 and had made some made some bad choices in the past. When I was 18, I was approved for a CapOne credit card with a $7500 limit (my first credit card!) Well, being an 18 year old with a high limit does not work too well and I ended up being garnished for an amount of $12,000. I filed bankruptcy in May of 2011, and now I am trying to rebuild myself so that, one day, I will be able to put my name on a home loan.
From what I have heard and read, my current scores are not that bad from getting out of a recent bankruptcy, but they are definitely not where I'd like them to be. Currently, I have one revolving loan from my credit union with a $200 limit, a Best Buy credit card with a $710 limit, a First Premier card with a $700 limit, and a Credit One card with a $400 limit. I am also in deferrment on my student loans totalling about $12000.
I look forward to "working out" my credit score for 2012!!
- Ashley
Hi all this is my first post!
Hi everyone! I'm getting married in July to someone with very good credit, and I'd like to be able to buy a house together in a few years and not drag him down. So excited to finally be facing my credit demons, and finding them less formidable than I had thought. Apparently dealing with stuff is better than ignoring it all for years, lol!
Where I've been: In default for student loans and ignoring it for a couple of years, haven't had a CC since college (almost 15 yrs ago) when I maxed out an Amex at $800 and never paid (shameful), good payment history as an authorized user on my mom's card which is closed now, and a satisfied judgement for state tax from 2009, $404. I have no FICOs since I have no current credit accounts. Pleasant surprise - I had a few small sums in collection over the past 10 years, none of which are on any report.
What I've done: Signed up for USAA CCMP to access all my reports and track them daily as needed. Applied for and received 2 ccs - BofA secured, $300, and CapOne Classic Platinum, $500. Read A LOT on here, so I'm actually educated about credit for the first time ever.
What I plan to do: Try to get the judgement off my reports by contacting the court, use ccs for small charges and PIF monthly, contact SL CA and start making payments.
Since I have no FICOs, and my FAKOs are all over the place, it's hard to set a realistic goal, so I'm just shooting for my ideal of 700 by YE. Good luck everyone!!
@TNTransplant wrote:Hi All,
I found this forum in November, and so far the information has been great - really good stuff here that will help me clean up my credit.
I sowed my wild credit oats in the '90s (slow pays, charge-offs, etc.), and then realized I couldn't keep doing that - it was embarrassing to apply for a car loan, CC, and get denied. So, I paid everything that was derogatory and waited for it to clear; also, my last slow pay was in 2001. I've had 10 years of paying everything on time/clean credit, but still have very low scores (low 600s).
Since browsing these forums, I've realized my problem has been paying off a CC and then closing it, which resulted in not having a very long AAoA. I was caught in the subprime borrower category in 2007/2008 and had several CCs that were cancelled on me by creditors, which has resulted in an extremely high utilization %. And, I've indiscriminately applied for credit at every turn, not aware of how inquiries affected my scores.
My goals for 2012: 1). Apply for no credit/no inquiries in 2012. 2). Work on paying off my revolving credit lines with high interest rates (I have 14 total, and I hope to pay off half of these this year). 3). Keep making all payments on time.
Looking forward to being with everyone here this year.
TNTransplant
Ok - I'm putting my dunce cap on now...
While my goals are the same, I'm not in near as bad of shape as I thought. After more research on the forums, I realized that my current scores in my signature are FAKO scores - I thought because I purchased them from Equifax that they were FICO scores. WRONG (Equifax Credit Watch is NOT FICO). So, I purchased an Equifax Fico score from myfico.com, and got a free TU Fico score from Walmart - my scores have increased by 30-50 points!
FAKO scores in my sig: EQ - 604, TU - 640, EX - 614.
FICO scores (soon to be in my sig): EQ - 659, TU - 670, EX - ???.
Anyway, I will be updating my 2012 goal for the year to have 700 scores across the board. I think this is now "doable."
Love this forum!
@TNTransplant wrote:Ok - I'm putting my dunce cap on now...
While my goals are the same, I'm not in near as bad of shape as I thought. After more research on the forums, I realized that my current scores in my signature are FAKO scores - I thought because I purchased them from Equifax that they were FICO scores. WRONG (Equifax Credit Watch is NOT FICO). So, I purchased an Equifax Fico score from myfico.com, and got a free TU Fico score from Walmart - my scores have increased by 30-50 points!
FAKO scores in my sig: EQ - 604, TU - 640, EX - 614.
FICO scores (soon to be in my sig): EQ - 656, TU - 670, EX - ???.
Anyway, I will be updating my 2012 goal for the year to have 700 scores across the board. I think this is now "doable."
Love this forum!
I'm glad your scores are higher than you first thought. That's always good news.
But there is no reason to be embarrassed. I would venture to guess that almost no one who comes here has any idea of the difference in "credit scores" that are available these days. I know I certainly didn't.
From a BK years ago to:
EX - 3/11 pulled by lender- 835, EQ - 2/11-816, TU - 2/11-782
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".
@MarineVietVet wrote:I'm glad your scores are higher than you first thought. That's always good news.
But there is no reason to be embarrassed. I would venture to guess that almost no one who comes here has any idea of the difference in "credit scores" that are available these days. I know I certainly didn't.
From a BK years ago to:
EX - 3/11 pulled by lender- 835, EQ - 2/11-816, TU - 2/11-782
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".
Thanks for your kind words.
I'm actually more relieved than anything - my scores can certainly be improved, but starting with 650-670 as a baseline is much better...