My scores are as follow 708, 717, 718
I have a credit history of 10-12 years with an average account age of 5 years (I am 27)
I have between 14 and 20 accounts (depending on report) 3 of which have balances (2 student loans and one CC). My student loans are about $17K and $5.5K (different types of loans that can't be combined into the same account, both are locked at 1.625% so I won't be moving them around or paying them off early due to the low rate).
My CC has a balance of between $300-$1000 ($507 currently) each month as I put all living expenses on it outside of rent and then PIF. My total CC limits add up to $17,000 (3 accounts $10K, $5K, $2) I use the card with a $10K limit for my expenses periodically use the $5K for traveling due to hotel points and never use the $2K one but it is my oldest card and don't want to shrink my history.
Now for the bad part:
I have some late payments some 30, 60 and 90 as I "embraced the cliche" and made some horrible CC mistakes in college (about $7K of debt with no income) which I worked through for about 18 months after I graduated. The majority of these are 4+ years old 2 (30 days) are 3+ years. I understand only time will remove these but is there any other way I can bring my scores up? Also how long do these have an impact? I know they can stay on for 7 years but do the have less influence after a specifc time frame less than that?
I am thinkng about buying my first house within the next 12-18 months and want to get the best rate at this time. I was thinking increasing my CC limits to make the monthly expenses a lower percentage of my revolving debt. Would this have a positive impact??
Thanks in advance for your help!!