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BK7: Discharged Now What?

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Sercaasi
Member

BK7: Discharged Now What?

Hello, 

 

A friend of mine has told me about this forum and told me to do a post because people are very helpful here.

 

It's been three months since I've been discharged and I am still waiting for my credit reports that my lawyer offered to see if all the reports were correct 30 days after discharge. I am currently waiting for that report, but can I start my rebuilding journey?

If so I was thinking of starting with Opensky and Penfed for a start. The credit cards that I have had were NavyFed & USAA. Any advice would be very appreciated!

Message 1 of 15
14 REPLIES 14
Guyatthebeach
Valued Contributor

Re: BK7: Discharged Now What?

Sercaasi,

 

Welcome to the forum. You're among people that have been in your exact footsteps. 

You're absolutely correct to review all your CR's to make sure your accounts are reporting correctly. Since your lawyer is helping review your CR's, ask the lawyer if he or she knows any credit unions or banks that are bankruptcy friendly. I and many others had better success with credit unions. 

I would take a few minutes to read Soulmaster's guide to 720 in 24. It's in this forum, just search for it. You can use it as a template for your rebuild.  I would check the local banks around you to see if they have an preapprovals, like BB&T and Regions for example. I would also check Capital One and Discover. You never know you may get lucky right off the bat.  Another thing to do is get a secured loan for $1k for a year term. It helps with your credit mix, positive payment history, and adds a new trade line that's post bankruptcy to your CR's.

 

More importantly create a realistic budget that will prevent the situation that caused your bankruptcy. Also understand that in this part of your rebuild, you may see more declines than approvals. Don't let this discourage you. I got declined all over the place and was declined again after doing recons.  

You mentioned you burned NFCU and USAA. That's ok, because there are other CU's and banks out there that will help you.  Take a look at PenFed and SDSCU. They have been very helpful to me. Definitely look around your community, I'm sure you can find a bankruptcy friendly CU and bank.

 

My bankruptcy falls off this year. I've learned a lot about getting credit, loans, and saving money on myfico.  If I can do this, so can you.

 

Guyatthebeach

 

 

Message 2 of 15
FireMedic1
Community Leader
Mega Contributor

Re: BK7: Discharged Now What?

Your doing the right thing for now. Once all your reports reflect IIB and $0 balance. You'll get a score bump upwards. Wait till then. Once that happens. Give Cap1 prequal a shot. If you didnt burn them. Try to steer clear of fee/secured cards if possible. I never had either. Let us know once its all in the past. It will take time. Everything I did after BK below came from here. So it can be done.


Message 3 of 15
Horseshoez
Valued Contributor

Re: BK7: Discharged Now What?

@Sercaasi, I agree with the others, you're taking the correct steps.

 

A few comments:

  • If you're tired of waiting for your attorney to look over your credit report you can go to annualcreditreport.com and download a free copy of your report from each of the three credit bureaus; then look at each report and confirm the remaining trade lines showing from before you filed are all showing IIB (Included in Bankruptcy), or some such notation.
  • Given you are already three months post-discharge, your odds of being able to land an unsecured CapitalOne Quicksilver card with 1.5% cash back rewards and a $3,000 credit limit are pretty good; give their pre-qual site a try.
  • Personally I'd opt for Discover long before anything with Opensky.
  • PenFed is another great option; they approved me about a year after my discharge for a Platinum Rewards card with a $6,000 limit, but folks here have told me I could probably have been approved long before that point.
  • One final comment regarding secured credit cards; not all are created equal; I opened one immediately after my discharge, it was junk and I closed it less than seven weeks later.  I opened a second secured card from TDBank right after that and it was amazing; it had a $5,000 credit limit, paid rewards, and graduated exactly six months later.  If you travel and need to rent a car, having a higher limit card is essential.
I categorically refuse to do AZEO!
Message 4 of 15
janelle79
Valued Member

Re: BK7: Discharged Now What?

I have learned so much in here.  I too am fresh out of bankruptcy and learning again.  I have tried to grasp  the 720 to 24 but I was not understanding.  I shall try again. Good luck to you, it's  such a relief moving forward with a clean slate 

Bk Filed 5/27, DC 9/2
September 21- TU- 511, EQ 556, EXP 604
Message 5 of 15
FLLGuy
Frequent Contributor

Re: BK7: Discharged Now What?

@janelle79  & @Sercaasi  - How are you guys holding up?

 

How's your application selection going so far?




Message 6 of 15
Sercaasi
Member

Re: BK7: Discharged Now What?

So I did sign up for Capone but not secured. Is this a bad move? I didn't receive the card yet. 

Message 7 of 15
chalupaman
Super Contributor

Re: BK7: Discharged Now What?


@Sercaasi wrote:

So I did sign up for Capone but not secured. Is this a bad move? I didn't receive the card yet. 


I don't think so. Did you get the Platinum? 

 

But anyway, you should be ok with that card for a while for the purposes of your rebuild. 

Tradelines: Macy’s - $18k, Penfed Power Cash Rewards - $10k, Ethan Allen (TD Bank) - $5.7k, Kay Jewelers - $5.5k, Appliances Connection - $5.3k, Jared - $5.25k, Best Buy (Citi) - $5k, Dell Preferred Account - $3.5k, Samsung - $3.2k, Firestone CFNA - $3.2k, Capital One Platinum - $3k, Mercury MC - $2.25k, Williams Sonoma - $2.1k, Wayfair (Fortiva) - $2k, Amazon Store Card - $1.8k, Apple Card - $1.7k, NFCU cashRewards - $1.5k, CareCredit - $1.5k, B&H Photo - $1.5k, Adorama - $1.25k, Ebay MC - $1k, Sam’s Club MC - $1k, American Eagle - $1k, Ollo MC - $600, Mission Lane Visa - $500, NY & Company - $500, Walgreens - $500, Home Depot - $500, Target RED Card - $500, CapOne Secured MC 0 AF - $500, Penfed Overdraft LOC - $500

Current FICOS: Mid 640s-50s on all reports, Ch 7 BK D/C Aug 2019
Starting scores: EX - 534, EQ - 574, TU - 516 | Total TLs: $91k approx | Total Utilization: 17%, getting this back down
Message 8 of 15
Guyatthebeach
Valued Contributor

Re: BK7: Discharged Now What?

Sercaasi, 

 

I think you will be fine. You're in a rebuilding phase, you're going to be fine. Personally I would also sign up for their free Creditwise app. It's a great tool to check your TU CR.

 

Guyatthebeach

Message 9 of 15
Sercaasi
Member

Re: BK7: Discharged Now What?

Yes, it is the platinum card and that's a relief. I was told to stick with it for 6 months.

Message 10 of 15
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