topic Re: Help me understand where I stand with my credit situation please in Rebuilding Your Credit

Help me understand where I stand with my credit situation please

opiy26 — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 00:34:31 GMT

I have been slowly working on my credit for a while now but here recently I have been more focused on it. Reasons for that is some good things have been going on and bad things coming off.

Some questions I have is:

I have a Bankruptcy Chp 13 about to come off in Sept 2012. Do I need to contact anyone to make sure it comes off or just pull a new credit report in October to see if it came off on its own?

I have a truck that was part of the Chp 13 which is coming off June 2012. Pretty much same as above, do I need to contact anyone or just wait until after September and pull a report and see what is still showing?

I currently have a loan (motorcycle payment) that is paid on time/ in good standing but my CR shows its 40% utilization. I guess this needs to be paid down quick to get it to atleast the 30% or less range? I have been paying more than minimum every chance I can.

I bought the Suze Orman kit here on myFICO and it suggested I apply for a credit card since I have never had one. It said it will show good for me in revolving credit. I applied to a bank I like and got an American Express Classic card with a limit of $1,500.00. How much of that should I not go over? How often should I pay it off or should I maintain a small balance? I only intend to use it for building my credit. Maybe later on upgrade to a much better card.

Lastly, will the two BR items listed above raise my score much when they come off? From what I can tell they are my two big red flags on my report. When they come off it will show alot of good from what I can tell.

Thanks to anyone that helps me with these problems/questions! I can't wait to get this all worked out.

Larry

Re: Help me understand where I stand with my credit situation please

llecs — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 01:39:27 GMT

Welcome!

The BK will drop on its own. Don't be surprised if it falls off a little early off of TU and/or EQ. EX seems to be the stubborn one and it'll drop on schedule. Same applies with the truck loan and other baddies.

Revolving (CCs, LOCs, HELOCs) are scored separately and differently than installment (SLs, mortgages, car notes, etc.) loans. You don't need to worry about installment utilization. And that's a good thing too. For example, I just added a $500k mortgage and it'll be years before it gets to the 10-20-30% range. It would be unfair to penalize me for the next 20-25+ years. Now there's nothing wrong with paying it off early. You save $$$. With regards to revolving utilization, 30% is still high. For best results, get all but one CC to report $0 and get that remaining to report a balance of less than 9% of the CL. 30% overall utilization can easily ding you 20-30 pts ++ depending on your overall credit.

Having revolving TLs very much helps your credit and I'd expect to see a nice gain when it reports. You'd also benefit from a second, though that depends on your goals. Is this Amex an Amex-branded CC issued by a bank or CU other than Amex? If so, it counts as a revolving card vs. a charge card. That's good. You can use as much as the CL you want to. Though before the statement date, it's good to get in the practice of paying it off. When applying for something like a car or home, you might benefit from letting a very small balance report. Before then, though, just pay it off and use it every 3-4 months just to keep it active.

Hard telling on the gains. The length of history on the auto is helping quite a bit. When it drops, it can actually hurt, though I'd rather have a cleaner report. The BK is nothing but trouble and I've seen high double digit gains when others came off as reported by posters in here.

Re: Help me understand where I stand with my credit situation please

opiy26 — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 02:51:24 GMT

Thanks for the reply and welcome!

Sorry for my ignorance but what is a TL? It is a USAA American Express Classic.

The truck shows closed 11/2008 and Bankruptcy 9/2008. Both dismissed although it was paid off. I agree with you in wanting a cleaner report. That truck has alot of bad (late payments and BK) so I think if any points are lost it will have to still be better in the long run I assume.

I have a mortgage that shows last activity in 11/2008 but the (several) late payments were in 2005. It is paid and closed.

Thanks again.

Re: Help me understand where I stand with my credit situation please

proudnavymom — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 03:02:55 GMT

@opiy26 wrote:
Thanks for the reply and welcome!

Sorry for my ignorance but what is a TL? It is a USAA American Express Classic.

The truck shows closed 11/2008 and Bankruptcy 9/2008. Both dismissed although it was paid off. I agree with you in wanting a cleaner report. That truck has alot of bad (late payments and BK) so I think if any points are lost it will have to still be better in the long run I assume.

I have a mortgage that shows last activity in 11/2008 but the (several) late payments were in 2005. It is paid and closed.

Thanks again.

TL refers to trade line. You might want to check out Guide to Common Abbreviations under Frequently Requested Threads. Sorry, but I haven't figured out how to post the direct link in a message.

Re: Help me understand where I stand with my credit situation please

llecs — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 03:30:56 GMT

Common Abbreviations

Credit Scoring 101 - great for knowing what is in your credit score and to see how your score is impacted.

What Steps Do I Take - great for learning the repair process.

and Example letters - PFDs, GWs, DVs, etc.

I love macros!

BTW, OP, check the source of the removal dates. BKs stay on for 7 or 10 years depending on the BK. For Chp13, I think it's 7 years from the dismissal date in your example. The credit reporting time period for the truck would be off the DOFD of the debt which would likely be in 2015. If you pull your CRs from the CRAs or from annualcreditreport.com, TU and EX will list a drop off date.

I would not touch the mortgage. The lates will start to drop off this year on their own.

Re: Help me understand where I stand with my credit situation please

proudnavymom — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 03:34:16 GMT

@llecs wrote:
Common Abbreviations

Credit Scoring 101 - great for knowing what is in your credit score and to see how your score is impacted.

What Steps Do I Take - great for learning the repair process.

and Example letters - PFDs, GWs, DVs, etc.

I love macros!

BTW, OP, check the source of the removal dates. BKs stay on for 7 or 10 years depending on the BK. For Chp13, I think it's 7 years from the dismissal date in your example. The credit reporting time period for the truck would be off the DOFD of the debt which would likely be in 2015. If you pull your CRs from the CRAs or from annualcreditreport.com, TU and EX will list a drop off date.

I would not touch the mortgage. The lates will start to drop off this year on their own.

Yeah, that's what I was trying to do, but couldn't ever figure it out!!

Re: Help me understand where I stand with my credit situation please

opiy26 — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 04:10:31 GMT

EDIT: I sat idle to long and it was answered

I appreciate the service of your kid/s, proudnavymom thanks.

I got the dates of fall off from my CR so I hope its right and I don't have to wait longer.

Thanks for the links. I have some reading to do.

Copied this from my CR

Bankruptcy:

Status: Chapter 13 bankruptcy dismissed.

Status Details: This item is scheduled to continue on record until Sep 2012.

Date Filed:
09/27/2005

Date Resolved:
09/23/2008

Responsibility:
Individual

Claim Amount:
NA

Liability Amount:
$0

Truck:

Status Details: This account is scheduled to continue on record until Jun 2012.

Date Opened:
06/2002

Reported Since:
06/2002

Date of Status:
09/2005

Last Reported:
11/2008

Type:
Installment

Terms:
51 Months

Monthly Payment:
$0

Responsibility:
Individual

Credit Limit/Original Amount:
$16,801

High Balance:
NA

Recent Balance:
$0 as of 11/2008

Recent Payment:
$0

Account History:
60 days past due as of Jul 2005
30 days past due as of Aug 2005, Jun 2005
Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Dismissed on Sept 30, 2005

Re: Help me understand where I stand with my credit situation please

llecs — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 04:51:36 GMT

You can see the DOFD pretty clearly on that truck account. DOFD is the date you first went late and never recovered. This is usually evidenced by a 30 day, 60, and so on. That first 30-day was 6/2005. By law they can report for 7 to 7.5 years as a bad account. Seven years later is 6/2012. Spot on. I probably shouldn't have mentioned the BK. Good to know it is 7 years from date filed, vs. dismissed.