Ch 13 Post Bankruptcy HELP.

[Anonymous]

Hello, 

Was searching online and came across this forum. 

I thought I was the only one in my situation and really embaressed, this comes across a great relief for me and I am lost and afraid. Me and my wife are expecting our first child and I want to work on getting our situation better. 

A little information about my situation:

My Ch 13 was discharged on Aug 11, 2016. 

I really have not did anything since then. No CC, no nothing. 

I still have my auto loan because I kept it after the Ch13, which I pay on-time each month. 3,927 left on that. 

I have paid off a state tax lien, which was in a form of 4 monthly payments, the last one being last month. It is still showing on my credit report but may fall off soon I am thinking. 

I do have student loans that I pay on each month, Private and Federal. My federal balances are pretty high, up around 70k and my Private around 11k. 

On Credit Karma it shows my TU score as 657 and EQ score as 670.

I am just kind of lost on where to go next. 

Do I apply for a credit card? If so, what kind. I am looking over the forums but it seems to be a little overwhelming at first as a new member and so much to think about. 

Any help would be appreciated!! 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello, 

Was searching online and came across this forum. 

I thought I was the only one in my situation and really embaressed, this comes across a great relief for me and I am lost and afraid. Me and my wife are expecting our first child and I want to work on getting our situation better. 

A little information about my situation:

My Ch 13 was discharged on Aug 11, 2016. 

I really have not did anything since then. No CC, no nothing. 

I still have my auto loan because I kept it after the Ch13, which I pay on-time each month. 3,927 left on that. 

I have paid off a state tax lien, which was in a form of 4 monthly payments, the last one being last month. It is still showing on my credit report but may fall off soon I am thinking. 

I do have student loans that I pay on each month, Private and Federal. My federal balances are pretty high, up around 70k and my Private around 11k. 

On Credit Karma it shows my TU score as 657 and EQ score as 670.

I am just kind of lost on where to go next. 

Do I apply for a credit card? If so, what kind. I am looking over the forums but it seems to be a little overwhelming at first as a new member and so much to think about. 

Any help would be appreciated!! 

---

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Hello, 

Was searching online and came across this forum. 

I thought I was the only one in my situation and really embaressed, this comes across a great relief for me and I am lost and afraid. Me and my wife are expecting our first child and I want to work on getting our situation better. 

A little information about my situation:

My Ch 13 was discharged on Aug 11, 2016. 

I really have not did anything since then. No CC, no nothing. 

I still have my auto loan because I kept it after the Ch13, which I pay on-time each month. 3,927 left on that. 

I have paid off a state tax lien, which was in a form of 4 monthly payments, the last one being last month. It is still showing on my credit report but may fall off soon I am thinking. 

I do have student loans that I pay on each month, Private and Federal. My federal balances are pretty high, up around 70k and my Private around 11k. 

On Credit Karma it shows my TU score as 657 and EQ score as 670.

I am just kind of lost on where to go next. 

Do I apply for a credit card? If so, what kind. I am looking over the forums but it seems to be a little overwhelming at first as a new member and so much to think about. 

Any help would be appreciated!! 

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Yes sir!  Apply for either a Discover (IT), or a Capital One QS One.  I waited about 7 months post 13 discharge and was approved for both, Cap was at $3K and the Disc was for $800 I think...now my Discover is up over $3K as far as a credit limit, and with Cap 1 I got the standard auto CLI post 6 month statement.

[Anonymous]

Yes sir!  Apply for either a Discover (IT), or a Capital One QS One.  I waited about 7 months post 13 discharge and was approved for both, Cap was at $3K and the Disc was for $800 I think...now my Discover is up over $3K as far as a credit limit, and with Cap 1 I got the standard auto CLI post 6 month statement.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your recommendation. 

I will get on applying for a CC. Any other helpful tips you used along the way? Everything is new to me on this end. I am hoping within 2 years I can get on the way to start finding my family a house. 

I have been reading to keep utilization under 9% on those cards and pay before the due date. Is that pretty accurate? 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thank you for your recommendation. 

I will get on applying for a CC. Any other helpful tips you used along the way? Everything is new to me on this end. I am hoping within 2 years I can get on the way to start finding my family a house. 

I have been reading to keep utilization under 9% on those cards and pay before the due date. Is that pretty accurate? 

---

Just use the card and pay in full.  Its best to have 2-3 cards and let one report for maximizing mortgage scoring.  As you can see by my signature line I was able to raise my scores to a level I was able to get preapproved for a (FHA) mortgage just over a year post discharge.  Its going to be a-ok. 

You want to make sure you let the amount you charge to actually report to the CR's so they know you are using credit.  If you pay it off before the STATEMENT date then it gets reported as 0.00

Let the statement cut THEN pay it off.  At least one needs to report for maximum reporting and FICO benefits.

Patience my friend.  Dont apply for a ton of things just because you start getting approvals.  2-3 max and you should be good. 

And no need to be embarrassed!!!  2008 was BAD for me too and for too long I tried to either dig myself out, but mostly ignoring the problem before I finally took my life back with a Ch13.  BEST thing I ever did.

[medicgrrl]

If you haven't already, get your free annual credit reports from each bureau and make sure everything is accurate.

Definitely work on obtaining 3 credit cards. Read the thread about who is Bk friendly. Also, keep in mind that some creditor's aren't going to let you back in the door if you included them in Bk.

When did you file for BK? A lot of times you can get the derogatory information removed early. You'll see people refer to this as EE (early exclusion).

Pull your FICO scores. Credit Check Total will give you your FICO 8 scores. It's $1 for a trial membership. These are not the same as what mortgage companies use. If you want to see the various scores for mortgages, credit cards and auto's, pull your scores from here.

Read the various forums and don't be afraid to ask questions! We're all here to help each other. My 13 was discharged in September. It can be a little overwhelming, but there's a great deal of information and really good people on here!

[Anonymous]

Thank YOU!

[Anonymous]

Thanks ALOT!

[Anonymous]

.

Here are a couple of links to Threads which may be of interest to you in your situation.

You can also use the search function for Ch 13 related posts, but there isn't much. My opinion of this is related to my search efforts 12-15 months ago when I was preparing to be Discharged.  But it is worth a search.

Also read the first "post" by Scupra on his "Bankruptcy Friendly Credit Cards Pt.2" thread.

Best Wishes!!!!

Bankruptcy Friendly Credit Cards
http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Bankruptcy/Bankruptcy-Friendly-Credit-Cards-Pt-2/td-p/3999737

HOW TO: From BK7 discharge to 700 in 24 months or less!
http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Bankruptcy/HOW-TO-From-BK7-discharge-to-700-in-24-months-or-less/m-p...

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[Anonymous]

CCs definitely help your FICO scores if paid on time and your utilization is kept low (no more than 20-30%). Without them, it is harder to build your scores.

Before applying for CC, its best to do a little research to minimize your denials. I wish I'd done that before I began applying, but I did catch on quickly. Some cards will automatically deny with a BK on a report. CH13 BKs fall off the report 7 years from the date of filing. Avoid any CC that were IIB ( included in your BK), unless you can determine if they are BK friendly. There's a thread on this topic in this forum. Many banks want to see several trade lines (CC, loans, etc.) and good payment on those lines for several months post BK, the number of which varies by bank. This is why most starting out will apply for a secured credit card, Capital One being perhaps the most popular. Not all secured cards will approve so soon after a BK,  Discover being one.

Every time you apply for the vast majority of cards or loans, a HP will be done on your report with one or more of the big 3 CRAs, and these will lower your FICO scores, so be cautious about the number of apps. Apps stay on your record for 2 years and some CCs will deny if you have too many apps.chase will automatically deny with 5 apps in 2 years.

Having 3 bank CCs looks better than store cards, although store cards are easier to get in general. I have 3 of each. Two of my store cards have the potential of being upgraded to bank credit cards. (I'm keeping my fingers crossed and being good.) If you don't already have an installment loan or mortgage, then taking out a small short term credit builder loan will help. Your mix of debt is one of the factors that influences your FICO scores.

Keeping a small balance on one card is a recommendation on this forum that has not worked so well for me. I've found that the CRAs like to see activity on several cards, and I've learned that that means a small balance reported on your statement. Right now I am trying to determine what that number is. So far 1 card with a small balance bumped my scores a little bit, but 2 cards with an overall 1% balance has bumped up my scores much more. When all cards had a zero balance, even though I had charged a lot, I lost 13-14 points on TU and EX. I was not happy about that! I'm experimenting to try to figure out what the magic number is for me.