"level of delinquencies" shown as a risk score factor - but i don't see any

[Anonymous]

My scores are pretty good but I am shopping for a mortgage so therefore I am very eager to correct anything that could be bringing me down.

Why is this risk factor "level of delinquencies" itemized next to my credit score? I have no delinquent accounts, no collections - I have combed through my report and don't see anything that would fall into the category of delinquent. 

[haulingthescoreup]

Hi, welcome to the forums!

Which report did this come from? --EQ (Equifax) report pulled from here at myFICO.com, TU (TransUnion) report pulled from here at myFICO.com, an EQ or TU FICO report from elsewhere (it must say FICO on it; not "credit report" or "credit score"), from annualcreditreport-dot-com (which bureau?), directly from Experian, from TrueCredit, from CreditSecure, etc etc etc.

If it's a FICO EQ or TU report from here, are there any red flags showing on the Credit-at-a-Glance screen or Accounts screen?

[RobertEG]

Derogs that affect credit scoring are simple.

First, get the best consumer credit report available.  This, in my mind, is unequivocably the free, annual credit reports from each CRA through annualcreditreport.com.

Dont order any credit scores from this site, just get your free CRs, and leave.

Derogs are easy to identify.

First look to each original creditor account.  Any monthly account delinquenecies reported?  Any charge off reported by an OC?

An collection reported by a debt collector?

Any jjudgment or other public record posted by anyone?

If not, you have a very clean credit file, and can focus your FICO score improvements on factors such as current % util.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your reply.

This risk factor is actually showing up on my husband's reports. I am shopping for a loan for us and trying to find out any possible way to increase his credit scores. I see red flags on both his transunion and equifax reports, pulled from this site (myfico). What I figured out is that it is one of MY credit cards, on which he is an authorized user, that is the culprit! I feel horrible about this. I have a number of credit cards and a long history therefore this negative feedback isn't hurting me much at all. However, my husband, who has only two credit cards in his name and a much shorter history is taking a huge hit. This is terrible since he is the primary breadwinner - there is no way I would qualify for a loan on my own.

I feel like an idiot for not knowing in advance that FICO would count his AU account in determining his credit score. 

So now my question is, when will this delinquency stop affecting us? the late payment is from 11/2008 and i know this stays on there for 7 years, but does it have a consistent negative effect for the entire 7 years?

[haulingthescoreup]

Just take him off the cards. As an AU, he has no responsibility for the payment history on the cards.

Since he still has two cards in his own name, he does have his own history.

If the lender requires three tradelines (accounts), do you have a CC with a clean history that you could put him on?

The rule of thumb in selecting a good AU card:

1.  squeaky clean

2.. very low or $0 balances reported each month

3.  ideally as old or older than the AU's AAoA (average age of accounts)

4.  the card actually does report AU's (not all do)

In the meantime, just call your CCC's and request that he be removed. The lines should disappear from his reports the next time that they update, which is typically on their statement date.

eta: as to the impact of lates, if it's just a 30 day, it hurts for two years, and then it basically doesn't count any more. If it's a 60, it hurts worse for two years, and then it counts like a 30 for the remaining five years. If it's a 90 or worse, or a 60 less than two years old, it puts you (and him) into the serious derogatory negative scorecard (score bucket), so you definitely don't want these if you can avoid it.

Since it's November 2008, it's about to go two years old, and whatever it is will diminish to some degree. Even the serious derogs do fade, but they definitely keep their punch until they're gone.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the quick response.

Are there any potential downsides to removing him? I am nervous to do anything that might backfire and actually lower his score. This card has a longer history than his other cards. Also, it has a fairly high balance. Except for this one delinquency, I have very positive activity on this card - use low percentage of the available balance, pay off in full every month, etc. 

We are in contract on a property already - need to start paperwork for our mortgage by end of this week. We are approved for a mortgage based on his current score, however we are taking a hit on the mortgage rate. 

Do you have any insight about the actual effect of the delinquency on our scores? for example, is it -50 points the first two years, -20 the second, etc.? or is it -50 for all 7 years that it remains on our reports?

[haulingthescoreup]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks for the quick response.

Are there any potential downsides to removing him? I am nervous to do anything that might backfire and actually lower his score. This card has a longer history than his other cards. Also, it has a fairly high balance. Except for this one delinquency, I have very positive activity on this card - use low percentage of the available balance, pay off in full every month, etc. 

We are in contract on a property already - need to start paperwork for our mortgage by end of this week. We are approved for a mortgage based on his current score, however we are taking a hit on the mortgage rate. 

Do you have any insight about the actual effect of the delinquency on our scores? for example, is it -50 points the first two years, -20 the second, etc.? or is it -50 for all 7 years that it remains on our reports?

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It has a high balance, or it has a high credit limit?

And in case you're not aware of it, you can get a score goose by paying off all but one CC right before their statements are due to drop, so that they report $0. For that one exception, pay it down so that it reports $10-20, and then pay it off before the due date. (This last bit is terrifyingly easy to forget.)

As for what helps his report, what are the negative factors on his FICO EQ and TU reports, listed in order? They are on screen two of his reports, over on the left. These are the factors that most hurt his scores.

What is his AAoA (average age of accounts) for each report, and how old is/ are the AU card/s?

[Anonymous]

Yes I meant to write high limit, not high balance. I do not carry a balance.

My husband's risk factors in order:

14 length of time accounts have been established

02 level of delinquency on accounts

08 too many inquiries last 12 months

12 length of time revolving accounts have been established

Equifax and transu both list the same risk factors and are scored significantly lower than Experian.

The Experian factors are:

14 length of time accounts have been estavlished

05 number of accounts with balances

08 too many inquiries last 12 months

10 proportion of balance to high credit on revolving accounts

However, we are really not concerned about the Experian score - it's nearly 60 points above his median. 

[Anonymous]

I should add - I am reading these risk factors off of a credit report that a potential lender pulled on us and then shared with me. 

I am also cross referencing this with the reports my husband purchased on myfico.

[haulingthescoreup]

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@Anonymous wrote:

14 length of time accounts have been established

02 level of delinquency on accounts

08 too many inquiries last 12 months

12 length of time revolving accounts have been established

Equifax and transu both list the same risk factors and are scored significantly lower than Experian.

The Experian factors are:

14 length of time accounts have been estavlished

05 number of accounts with balances

08 too many inquiries last 12 months

10 proportion of balance to high credit on revolving accounts

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Was it a mortgage lender who pulled the reports? If so, we can assume that it's an EX FICO and the negative factors are genuine.

It looks to me like he ought to remain on your cards, as "short history" is listed first for all three reports, ahead of "level of delinquency."

Out of curiosity, though, why is his EX so different? It looks as if there are negatives on the EQ and TU reports, but maybe not on EX, or at any rate, there are serious baddies on the first two but not on EX. Does he have negatives on his own accounts?

The only thing that will help factors #14 and #12 are time, of course, or getting him on more AU cards. Do you have any other cards that you can put him on, that are at least as old as his AAoA?

The "level of delinquencies" is a toughie. How bad are they, and how long ago are they? They do fade with time, but other than older 30-days, they're always going to count. Have you gone the GW (goodwill) route? Be sure to tell them that you're trying for a mortgage, and that the negatives on his reports are keeping him from qualifying, or at least, from qualifying for anything affordable. (Of course, it should be he, not you, who's doing this, but I understand how this works. )

As for the "too many inquiries", how old are the ones that are from the last twelve months? In other words, how long before at least one or two hit one year old? Since it's third down, after short history and level of delinquencies, it probably won't contribute more than a few points, but everything helps.