Hi Tons_of_Debt,
March 2009 is 7 months away, so no, it's not unrealistic for your
scores to increase from 514 to 670 during that time.
A suggestion: If you haven't already done so, I'd pull scores again.
But instead of going to myfico.com, try going to myfico.com/12 .
You'll still be able to buy all 3 of your FICO scores and your credit
reports (both sites are the same price), but at the /12 site you'll get
all 12 of your negative reason codes...4 codes for each of the 3
credit reports.
You need these codes because they tell you EXACTLY what's wrong
with your scores. The codes are a 2-digit number followed by a brief
written explanation of what's wrong. So by doing the opposite of what
the code/written explanation says, you will boost your scores. For example:
16 Lack Of Recent Revolving Account Information
This negative code means that you have no recent revolving credit on your
credit reports...like a credit card or a line of credit. So by getting a new credit
card or establishing a new line of credit, this will raise your scores. See how
it works??!!!
Additionally, the 4 codes on each credit report are listed in order of importance.
This means the top code is hurting your credit the most, then the next and so on.
So if code 16 above is at the top of your Equifax report, for example, getting a
new credit card will boost your scores the most. Taking action on the second
negative reason code will boost your scores the 2nd highest and so on.
In other words, the negative reason codes give you a customized roadmap to
help boost your scores...and it's personalized just for you. This is why some
folks here in the forum can get a credit card and experience a 50-pt gain, while
others might have only a 10-pt gain..and in some cases, have their scores drop
altogether.
So to review, NO, it's not unreasonable for you to raise your scores from 514
to 670 between now and March 2009. But you have to know exactly what's
wrong with your credit so you can put together a plan to get there. Getting those
negative reason codes will help you do that.
I hope this helps you. Please keep us posted on your progress. Enjoy the evening!
p.s. Make sure you bookmark both sites ( myfico.com and myfico.com/12 ) .
Depending on what browser you use (Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox), your computer
might place a cookie on the myfico.com/12 site when you visit it. If you bookmark
both sites, you won't have a problem. But if a problem does arise, just delete your cookies
and everything should be fine...
CanDo
"The right attitude is everything"