UPDATE - 100pt Mortgage Score Increase!!

[Anonymous]

Currently paying down CC utilization. I have 3 credit cards reporting, and I'm doing the all cards at zero with one reporting a balance. 

1. Capital One (Apr 2016) - $500 limit - $0 balance - balance was -$11.54 last month, and this month I made it an even $0. Statement was due Apr 16th and already updated on my report. 

2. NFCU (Mar 2017) - $1,000 limit - $620 balance - statement is due May 1st and will pay to $0 balance. 

3. Capital One (June 2013 - AU Account) - $2,500 limit - $1,207 balance - statement is due May 13th, and will pay it down to $600. For June's reporting, card will be paid down to $225 (9% balance). 

Current negatives on file: 

BB&T (2011 Charge-off) - Settled and now reports $0 balance

Fair Collections (2011 Collection) - Settled and now reports $0 balance

Comenity (2017 Charge-off) - Paid in Full

Berks Collections (2011 Collection) - $681/$724/$783 balances

Current items in processing: 

DeVry (2013) - Defaulted student loan $1,300 - paid in full & will update on report on April 28th 

Great Lakes - Student Loans $60K - paid in full through consolidation - will report $0 balance on April 28th - I have no idea when FedLoan (new servicer) will report the updated information. 

[Azza]

I mean, it's impossible to tell because everybody's credit is different, but I'd expect maybe a bump of 30 points for going under 9% total util, but that card still having a balance above 9% will hold you back some.

[Anonymous]

I don't know your ultimate objective but if it is to maintain a score and grow your history I'd lay off the heavy usage, as you're playing with fire for no good reason

The Navy account was just acquired why even run it to 62% just to play beat the clock....
When the barely a year old Cap-1 account and associated history haven't been impressive enough to gain a larger CL...

Staying that ' just good enough' range handicaps blowing up....Meaning that Yes you get the Navy approval, after a so so showing with the Cap-1 but only 'good enough' for a "starter" $1000 with Navy, notoriously generous lender.

These hints at 'whom' your profile is and how much rope to extend it and of course at meatier terms, waiting for 'that' behavior....What happens?
By April a 1 month old TL is at 62%, even with the modest CL extended.

You see you've got to allow these things to breathe, it looks and feels like 💰 management is a concern...Yes they will tempt you into use with 'rewards' and the like but "they" don't do RISK scoring the computer model does...You gotta let the scores grow, so your TLs can grow big enough to actually USE these accounts

The current TLs IMO are for building only NOT actually credit usage, because any usage at those levels suppress your scores at a time where it should be only about grow and aging on time payments of very very well managed TL meaning minimal usage ( just for show)

Not sure the AU account is doing you any favors right now, it's at almost 50%....Where again if that's YOU,you may have grown your other account better the debt ratio on said card shown better on reporting .

If the balance of AU is going to remain at that level removing the AU might have value

[Anonymous]

Gemini, my CapOne card is a secured card that started off with a $200 limit and I was given a $300 increase. So not sure what you mean by it hasn't been "impressive" enough. That is all CapOne does on secured cards, FYI. 

When the NFCU card hit, I lost one point on TU and EX. That account will be paid to a $0 balance this week. Again, the NFCU is a secured card so the $1,000 limit was provided by me. 

I'm only using the cards to the companies can see some sort of activity. 

My original question was how much of a score increase I could get, not your personal opinion of how I'm managing things. 

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@Anonymous wrote:
I don't know your ultimate objective but if it is to maintain a score and grow your history I'd lay off the heavy usage, as you're playing with fire for no good reason

The Navy account was just acquired why even run it to 62% just to play beat the clock....
When the barely a year old Cap-1 account and associated history haven't been impressive enough to gain a larger CL...

Staying that ' just good enough' range handicaps blowing up....Meaning that Yes you get the Navy approval, after a so so showing with the Cap-1 but only 'good enough' for a "starter" $1000 with Navy, notoriously generous lender.

These hints at 'whom' your profile is and how much rope to extend it and of course at meatier terms, waiting for 'that' behavior....What happens?
By April a 1 month old TL is at 62%, even with the modest CL extended.

You see you've got to allow these things to breathe, it looks and feels like 💰 management is a concern...Yes they will tempt you into use with 'rewards' and the like but "they" don't do RISK scoring the computer model does...You gotta let the scores grow, so your TLs can grow big enough to actually USE these accounts

The current TLs IMO are for building only NOT actually credit usage, because any usage at those levels suppress your scores at a time where it should be only about grow and aging on time payments of very very well managed TL meaning minimal usage ( just for show)

Not sure the AU account is doing you any favors right now, it's at almost 50%....Where again if that's YOU,you may have grown your other account better the debt ratio on said card shown better on reporting .

If the balance of AU is going to remain at that level removing the AU might have value

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[HeavenOhio]

You're not clear on when you plan to pay. You can accelerate the score bump by paying just before the statements cut unless you're relying on the 21–25 day grace periods to make your payments.

[DollyLama]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Currently paying down CC utilization. I have 3 credit cards reporting, and I'm doing the all cards at zero with one reporting a balance. 

1. Capital One (Apr 2016) - $500 limit - $0 balance - balance was -$11.54 last month, and this month I made it an even $0. Statement was due Apr 16th and already updated on my report. 

2. NFCU (Mar 2017) - $1,000 limit - $620 balance - statement is due May 1st and will pay to $0 balance. 

3. Capital One (June 2013 - AU Account) - $2,500 limit - $1,207 balance - statement is due May 13th, and will pay it down to $600. For June's reporting, card will be paid down to $225 (9% balance). 

Current negatives on file: 

BB&T (2011 Charge-off) - Settled and now reports $0 balance

Fair Collections (2011 Collection) - Settled and now reports $0 balance

Comenity (2017 Charge-off) - Paid in Full

Berks Collections (2011 Collection) - $681/$724/$783 balances

Current items in processing: 

DeVry (2013) - Defaulted student loan $1,300 - paid in full & will update on report on April 28th 

Great Lakes - Student Loans $60K - paid in full through consolidation - will report $0 balance on April 28th - I have no idea when FedLoan (new servicer) will report the updated information. 

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It appears you plan on doing this over 2 months on util, in my previous experience, my first PIF yielded maybe 15 points on 1 bureau, a few points less on TU, since it words it decreased balance across all tradelines, and you should get 12-15 pts (referring to NFCU)

Once you get up 8.9 on the Capital One, you should see a much higher score boost. 

Question the charge off from 2011, they are getting close to dropping off your reports next year, have you checked your reports lately as to the dates the CBs state "will be on your credit report until Month/ Yr. ?  If they factor in the date of first deliquency it could be earlier. 

Please let us know how it affects when your get your score reports again. You can jump ahead a month if you PIF before the due date by a week so it will report when the next statement cuts, not waiting till when due date. 

[Anonymous]

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@DollyLama wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Currently paying down CC utilization. I have 3 credit cards reporting, and I'm doing the all cards at zero with one reporting a balance. 

1. Capital One (Apr 2016) - $500 limit - $0 balance - balance was -$11.54 last month, and this month I made it an even $0. Statement was due Apr 16th and already updated on my report. 

2. NFCU (Mar 2017) - $1,000 limit - $620 balance - statement is due May 1st and will pay to $0 balance. 

3. Capital One (June 2013 - AU Account) - $2,500 limit - $1,207 balance - statement is due May 13th, and will pay it down to $600. For June's reporting, card will be paid down to $225 (9% balance). 

Current negatives on file: 

BB&T (2011 Charge-off) - Settled and now reports $0 balance

Fair Collections (2011 Collection) - Settled and now reports $0 balance

Comenity (2017 Charge-off) - Paid in Full

Berks Collections (2011 Collection) - $681/$724/$783 balances

Current items in processing: 

DeVry (2013) - Defaulted student loan $1,300 - paid in full & will update on report on April 28th 

Great Lakes - Student Loans $60K - paid in full through consolidation - will report $0 balance on April 28th - I have no idea when FedLoan (new servicer) will report the updated information. 

---

It appears you plan on doing this over 2 months on util, in my previous experience, my first PIF yielded maybe 15 points on 1 bureau, a few points less on TU, since it words it decreased balance across all tradelines, and you should get 12-15 pts (referring to NFCU)

Once you get up 8.9 on the Capital One, you should see a much higher score boost. 

Question the charge off from 2011, they are getting close to dropping off your reports next year, have you checked your reports lately as to the dates the CBs state "will be on your credit report until Month/ Yr. ?  If they factor in the date of first deliquency it could be earlier. 

Please let us know how it affects when your get your score reports again. You can jump ahead a month if you PIF before the due date by a week so it will report when the next statement cuts, not waiting till when due date. 

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Yes Dolly, you are correct. I do plan to get this resolved in two months. Although, I'm thinking I should let the NFCU be the reporting card. I'm the AU on my husband's CapOne card, and if we get that to $0 balance, that would help us both. He only has two credit cards on his report, so if he has one reporting and the other at $0, that would be good for him as well. 

The NFCU statement is due on May 1st, so I'm paying that this Friday the 28th. NFCU reports to the bureau's on the 4th of each month, so I'm good there. Since I'm switching it up, I will have the reporting balance be $80 on that one this Friday. 

In regards to the charge-off's - BB&T was from an auto loan, but it doesn't report as a reposession. It's scheduled to come off my reports January 2018. Doesn't factor into utilization either because when I do simulator's the balance is only on open accounts. The FCO collection comes off in December 2017. I do plan to request early exclusions for these as the time gets closer. TU is known to remove as early as 6mo in advance, so I will try at the end of the summer just to make sure I'm in the safe zone. One of the Berks collections comes off in May(only reporting on EX). The other two come off in December 2017(only reporting on EX). 

I will make sure to come back and update on this. 

[Anonymous]

UPDATE: My NFCU card is now paid, and I'm leaving a $78 balance on it. My CapOne is also at $0 reporting with $500 limit.  

My husband's CapOne card that I'm the AU on will be paid off by May 12th, his statement is due May 13th. So this should give me the optimal scoring utilization. Total limits across all cards are $4,001. Current total utilization across cards is 45%. NFCU's individual utilization is currently reporting 63%, ($1,000 limit/$627 balance). Husband's CapOne is reporting a 48% utilization, ($2,500 limit/$1,207 balance). 

If my calcuations are correct, I will have an aggregate utilization of 1.9%. Individual utilization will be 0%, 0%, 7.8%. 

Also, student loan consolidation gets reported to bureaus today, hoping to see result by next week. 

I have the FICO Premier 3B account, and my next monthly update with all scores including mortgage scores is on May 13th. 

[Anonymous]

UPDATE: 

DeVry, $1,300 (Defaulted Perkins Loans) - now showing as "Closed & Paid". In the remarks section there is a comment that says "Paid, was a collection". 

Student Loans, $60K - Did a consolidation to absorb the defaulted loans through DeVry. Also showing as "Closed & Paid". 

The DeVry acccounts are only on my Experian report. My student loans are on my Equifax and Experian reports. 

The changes above resulted in a 14 point increase on Experian. I don't have the update from Equifax yet. I'm sure that will change once the new student loan consolidation reports. 

NFCU will report on May 4th. Current status of that is $75 balance/$1,000 limit. 

[medicgrrl]

Looks like you've been working hard on this!  Congrats on all of your updates!