topic Re: Need advice on next step in General Credit Topics

Need advice on next step

Anonymous — Sat, 02 Jun 2018 23:41:39 GMT

I've been working VERY hard on upping my credit score. I am buying a car in September and started working on my score 6 months ago. As of now my Equifax score (according to Crue karma) is 699. 700+ is my goal. Tim get to this score I have reduced my credit card debt to $1100 with an available credit limit of $57,250. I have 1 Line of Credit open at $2500, 2 personal loans at $9000. My plan is to finish paying off the card and then start on the LOC befor I buy/lease my car. I'm hoping too use the paid down LOC for the down payment as putting it on a card hurts my credit ratio. I have reduced all of my bills to a very manageable budget and all "extra" money that used to go to my credit cards will go to the loans. What should my next step be? Is there something else I should be doing?

Re: Need advice on next step

Anonymous — Sat, 02 Jun 2018 23:59:37 GMT

You should start by getting your FICO scores. Credit Karma only offers you a Vantage 3.0 score which isn't your true score that lenders will be basing their decision from. You can obtain a copy of your true FICO scores from CCT (Creditchecktotal). Do the 7 day trial for $1 just remember to cancel before the 7 day trial or you will be billed at full price monthly. You can also acquire your free yearly reports from each bureau from annualcreditreport.com. You can also purchase and monitor your three score right here at myFICO. This will give you an accurate overview of your total credit profile so you can see where you can increase your score to receive the best possible rate for your car loan.

Re: Need advice on next step

Anonymous — Sun, 03 Jun 2018 00:04:36 GMT

Hi and thank you for replying!! My FICO (according to Discover) is 712, 710 on Capital One's Credit Wise. Is this great it just average? Transunion has me at 721.

Re: Need advice on next step

Anonymous — Sun, 03 Jun 2018 00:09:34 GMT

The Discover will be a true FICO however credit wise is also Vantage 3.0. That TU score is good I'd be interested to see how your other two bureaus look presumably right around the same providing you dont have and derogatory payment history or COs. The low utilization of your revolving with keep your score in tip top shape prior to your auto loan application.

Re: Need advice on next step

Anonymous — Sun, 03 Jun 2018 00:14:38 GMT

No COs and no derogatory remarks. I am on my credit karma app every week, obsessively so. I keep a very close eye on any changes. The only "bad" thing I have is my credit age average is 2 + years which I know will improve with time.

Re: Need advice on next step

HeavenOhio — Sun, 03 Jun 2018 00:17:21 GMT

Welcome, @Anonymous.

Capital One's CreditWise is also a VantageScore. I'm not clear on what your TU score might be.

If you have a Discover card, you get a TransUnion FICO8 with your account. Maybe that's what you're referring to. Discover also offers an Experian FICO8 that's available to everyone at creditscorecard.com.

From your original post, it looks like your profile is in reasonably good shape and that your plan is good. There may be some tweaks that people here can suggest if you list:

Each of your credit card accounts along with their balances and limits
Both the balance and limit on your LOC

The LOC is relevant because it's actually part of your revolving utilization. Your current loans are unlikely to be an issue. Just keep making the payments on time.

Re: Need advice on next step

Anonymous — Sun, 03 Jun 2018 00:29:32 GMT

Ahhh I did not know that the LOC was part of revolving! Here's my cards:
Disc $1461 reporting, actual $1100 limit $16,500
Vict Sec 0 1,200
Wells F. 0 4400
Loft. 0. 1,250
Cap 1. 0. 500
DCU. 0. 5000
Maurices 0 1,300
Dillards. 0 3,600
Belk. 0 7,000
Cap 1 Quick 0 1,500
Kohls. 0 2,500
Amex. 0 6,000
Macys. 0. 2,000
Synchrony 0. 4,000
Disc tire. 0. 500

Re: Need advice on next step

HeavenOhio — Sun, 03 Jun 2018 00:58:13 GMT

Your Discover balance is already in great shape, and the rest of your cards are reporting zero. Paying down Discover any further probably won't do much more for your score, if anything. If you've been carrying a balance over time, simply make sure you're paying substantially over the minimum to keep Discover happy.

From a pure scoring standpoint, I'd work toward paying down the LOC. You want to use that for your down payment anyway. And leaving one revolving account with a small positive balance with the rest reporting zero is ideal for scoring. It's best that the small positive balance be on a major card, though (not a store card and not a LOC).

Because you plan on using the LOC toward your down payment, you should be ready to go. The balance that you use for your down payment shouldn't report until your loan is approved and the keys to your car are in your hands, so you should be fine there.

Of course, if you're paying interest on your Discover card, you'll eventually want to make that stop. But since you're already paying interest on the LOC, shifting your payments in that direction isn't going cause any great pain.

Also, make sure your budget can handle all this. We've concentrated on scoring, and as mentioned, you're in great shape there. But keep in mind that you do have a couple of loans, you've been paying a card and an LOC over time, and you're borrowing for a down payment. I don't think you're going to have any trouble getting the loan you want, but you do need to make sure that you're comfortable with it.

Re: Need advice on next step

Anonymous — Sun, 03 Jun 2018 00:59:41 GMT

THANK YOU!!! I will switch my focus to paying down the LOC instead of the Discover now.

Re: Need advice on next step

SouthJamaica — Sun, 03 Jun 2018 01:14:38 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I've been working VERY hard on upping my credit score. I am buying a car in September and started working on my score 6 months ago. As of now my Equifax score (according to Crue karma) is 699. 700+ is my goal. Tim get to this score I have reduced my credit card debt to $1100 with an available credit limit of $57,250. I have 1 Line of Credit open at $2500, 2 personal loans at $9000. My plan is to finish paying off the card and then start on the LOC befor I buy/lease my car. I'm hoping too use the paid down LOC for the down payment as putting it on a card hurts my credit ratio. I have reduced all of my bills to a very manageable budget and all "extra" money that used to go to my credit cards will go to the loans. What should my next step be? Is there something else I should be doing?

I don't understand how anyone can answer your question without knowing the

present balances and the original loan amounts of the line of credit and the two personal loans.

Re: Need advice on next step

Anonymous — Sun, 03 Jun 2018 01:15:45 GMT

It's farther down in the replies

Re: Need advice on next step

SouthJamaica — Sun, 03 Jun 2018 11:19:50 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
It's farther down in the replies

I saw the cards listed. I don't see the loans or the LOC.

Re: Need advice on next step

Anonymous — Sun, 03 Jun 2018 12:07:01 GMT

WF 21.25% $2934
AE 12.97% $4000
DI 16.99% $4261

Re: Need advice on next step

Anonymous — Sun, 03 Jun 2018 13:03:15 GMT

First, finish paying the card. After that you may proceed in looking for a new car to buy or lease based on your score. I think the dealers and brokers could give you some great advice on how to buy or lease a car.

Re: Need advice on next step

SouthJamaica — Sun, 03 Jun 2018 14:57:49 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
WF 21.25% $2934
AE 12.97% $4000
DI 16.99% $4261

We need to know (a) which is an LOC, and what the credit limit is, and (b) which are installment loans, and what the original loan amounts was.

Re: Need advice on next step

Anonymous — Sun, 03 Jun 2018 16:08:28 GMT

The WF is the LOC. original 3k
Disc and Amex are both installment . Disc original 5k, Amex 4k and just opened

Re: Need advice on next step

SouthJamaica — Sun, 03 Jun 2018 17:26:18 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
The WF is the LOC. original 3k
Disc and Amex are both installment . Disc original 5k, Amex 4k and just opened

OK so summarizing:

WF LOC bal 2500 or 2934 [you gave 2 different numbers] limit 3000

Disc loan bal 4261 limit 5000

Amex loan bal 4000 limit 4000

Credit cards:

Disc $1461 reporting, actual $1100 limit $16,500
Vict Sec 0 1,200
Wells F. 0 4400
Loft. 0. 1,250
Cap 1. 0. 500
DCU. 0. 5000
Maurices 0 1,300
Dillards. 0 3,600
Belk. 0 7,000
Cap 1 Quick 0 1,500
Kohls. 0 2,500
Amex. 0 6,000
Macys. 0. 2,000
Synchrony 0. 4,000
Disc tire. 0. 500

Your credit cards are fine.

Your LOC needs to be treated like a credit card so it should be paid down to 9% or lower.

Your loans should be paid down, preferably to 9% overall.

Re: Need advice on next step

Anonymous — Sun, 03 Jun 2018 18:32:30 GMT

Thank you, South Jamaica! I appreciate all of your help