Does anyone know how many points a score will drop if say 1 or 2 collections show up on a report when there are already 5 reporting? I hear the more you have the less impact on your score. Does the same go for collections being removed? I currently have about 5 reporting, but I know there are 2 floating around out there that are not showing up right now, it's just a matter of time before they do. I am trying to apply for a mortgage, and broker says not to pay a dime to collections. I wonder if this would work as negotiation? "I would like to take care of this debt, however I was instructed not to due to lowering credit score, can we do a PFD?" 
Starting Score: 568
@MarieSmiles4 wrote:Does anyone know how many points a score will drop if say 1 or 2 collections show up on a report when there are already 5 reporting? I hear the more you have the less impact on your score. Does the same go for collections being removed? I currently have about 5 reporting, but I know there are 2 floating around out there that are not showing up right now, it's just a matter of time before they do. I am trying to apply for a mortgage, and broker says not to pay a dime to collections. I wonder if this would work as negotiation? "I would like to take care of this debt, however I was instructed not to due to lowering credit score, can we do a PFD?"
Generally, if you remove CAs, there are fewer points returned vs. losing your last removed. Certainly YMMV based on how it reports, how recent it was, whether or not it was your last baddie, etc. Conversely addingonly one on a clean report will hurt a lot more vs. having several reporting already.
Paying a collection will not help your FICO any. He probably made that comment because in some situations, paying an old collection could result in it being updated in a way that can harm your FICO. It's dependant on whether it updated in recent year or so.
Definitely aim for a PFD if a CA.