@Anonymous wrote:
I was discharged four years ago. I have my transunion score from my walmart credit card it is 652 I also have one from my capitalone card but that one says 697 the walmart card is the fico score. (both are transunion) I was thinking of purchasing a home but I was told that waiting for the bankruptcy to leave my credit would be best. I have a capitalone card ($5250 credit line) an amazon card that I just opened in Oct 2015 ($1700 credit line up from $1200 since opening it) walmart card ($300) I used it once in 2012 student loan $500 left and my wife just added me as an authorized user to her chase cc I think it has $2500 credit line.
Chase, Discover, American Express, Barclay were some of the cards I had when I filed bankruptcy I want to get my score higher I know having more credit will help out. Should I get a personal loan apply for another credit card or just get credit line increases from the cards I have? (Instead of getting more cards in the future)
I was thinking of gettting a car (leasing) with my wife I don't know who's credit scores are higher is it worth checking my score (paying) or apply for a card that gives your score monthly for free? I already have the walmart card that does that I can go for another card that offers equifax or Experian or pay for my scores.
I have saved money to purchase a home but since I think the bankruptcy will affect my chances I was planing on waiting the 6 years and just leasing a car to help my credit. Any thoughts on that?
If you are trying to raise your scores, please don't open any more cards! Three is all you need and you have more than that. No inquiries and new accounts will only lower your score.
You should call Credit Solutions (Synchrony back door number) and ask for credit limit increases on your Wal-Mart and Amazon cards. Ask them to raise your limits to $5000 and they will likely counter offer.
You have the student loan, so as long as it is still reporting, you don't need another installment loan. However, with a balance that low, it may pay off soon, in which case your scores will take a hit.
Research the share secured loan metho on this site, using Alliant Credit Union to take out a cash secured loan, and then immediately prepaying almost all of it. You need to understand how to do this correctly.
Your scores should be higher than they are by this point. My scores are mostly higher than yours 2 years post discharge. You should read the BK 7 to 700 FICO score in 24 months thread.
What is your utilization on your various cards? This may be what is holding you down. Have you had any new late payments or collections since discharge? Are your bankruptcy accounts reporting as included in bankruptcy and showing a zero balance?
These are the steps you should be taking, but please read a lot on here before doing anything, aside from hitting up Synchrony for credit limit increases. They do not do hard pulls so it costs you nothing in terms of points. You can ask them for a credit limit increase every four months.
Good luck. No more cards if raising your score for a mortgage is your priority. Oh, and do not lease a car for your credit score. It will likely drop your score. Only get a car loan or lease if you need a car. Share secured loans work just as well for a fraction of the cost in interest.
