Finishing my second 2nd Ch. 7 BK….

[boomski]

I was active a lot on these boards when going through my first BK7 in 2014. I rebuilt to just sub 700 scores with 30k plus in CL..

the main reason I filed the first BK was job loss and a car accident I was in that I was without health insurance (was waiting for my new employers insurance to kick in) and racked up a $150k hospital bill along with a 1099 from a mortgage that I let strategically default (bought in 08 for 325k, 2012 worth 250, and the renters I had in there destroyed the place to the tune of 60k)

everything was great but the girl I was with got pregnant and I thought I'd step up right away. The baby was born with a rare heart defect and required a 6 month hospitalization. I quit my job, took care of everyone and racked up those cards to live. But, I found out the baby wasn't mine I was happy to have helped and now her and the baby are doing great but when covid hit and 2 companies I was working for went bankrupt... this spring I couldn't keep up and let it all go and filed BK7 again for about $95k... 

I burnt in this BK

NFCU - 20k

cap1 - 7k

synchrony - 10k

On credit karma my scores boosted to the 630's (fakos of course) from the 490's after the BK reflected all my accounts on my CR. The site showed a "guaranteed" approval for a Credit One bank card. Or I'd get $50! Lol so I said why not. It's the first "try" for credit since the BK. I was approved for the Credit One 1% cash back Amex, $2,000 SL with a $39 AF. 

My first credit card after the first BK was a $300 Cap1 card...then a few others with $300-$500 limits. 

I'be been going through the forums here looking for folks' attempts for credit post BK (the BK7 to 700 thread had a lot of outdated info IMO) 

if anyone has a simple game plan to keep my rebuild as fast as possible. I would love to hear it!

thanks everyone and I will update my progress as this goes!

boomski

[MileHigh96]

Welcome back to the forum and sorry for all you have been through.

There really isn't any "express route" to rebuilding your credit and each rebuild is different for each person. Some people have great results with certain lenders while others don't have any luck at all. But the important thing to remember is that rebuilding is a marathon, not a sprint.

But since you already have your first card, you just need 2 more to get the most out of FICO scoring plus one loan tradeline. Lots of people use SSL loans which I am unfamiliar with, so I'm sure someone with knowledge on that could chime in there.

Both Mission Lane and Ally are good rebuilder cards and they aren't completely predatory like some of the bottom feeders out there. Also, consider opening up a savings account at PenFed because they are a BK friendly credit union.

Good luck on everything going forward.

[Namaste7]

---

@boomski wrote:

I was active a lot on these boards when going through my first BK7 in 2014. I rebuilt to just sub 700 scores with 30k plus in CL..

[...] 

I'be been going through the forums here looking for folks' attempts for credit post BK (the BK7 to 700 thread had a lot of outdated info IMO) 

if anyone has a simple game plan to keep my rebuild as fast as possible. I would love to hear it!

thanks everyone and I will update my progress as this goes!

boomski

---

I still think the guts of BK to 700 in 24 months is still applicable; however, you may need to make some adjustments for current times

1. Credit report review seems like a logical first step and you can take your specific credit-related questions to the General Credit Topics subforum. 
2. Personal financial plan [seems okay to address concurrent with step 1] is probably more important than the credit repair/rebuild. Based on your prior experiences, what actions can you take to strengthen your financial security? How much money do you want/need to save to cover the future (3, 6, 9, 12 or 24 months): deposits, down payments, home repair, medical, emergencies, etc.? 
   • Establishing a healthy relationship with money and a savings plan will prevent one from having a significant reliance on credit and credit accumulation. This might be an opportunity to streamline your banking relationships to creditors that you might be able to establish a credit relationship in the future: Discover, Bank of America, TD Bank, PenFed, your local/regional credit union. 
   • This might be a good time to consider your long-term savings and retirement planning. 
3. Credit pause - Consider operating on a cash basis for 12 months to acclimate to operating just on the cash/assets you have and not the credit/debt leveraged to you. I know this is not considered in the plan, but perhaps a reasonable first step to get in the drivers seat of financial stability
4. Credit rebuild
   • Avoid store cards 
   • Follow the BK to 700 thread for guidance on how to management payments (PIF) and utilization to optimize scoring 
   • Check the forums for recent references of approvals from Discover, Capital One, BofA secured, Apple Card and any bank card that is lenient to prior BKs <36 months from filing or discharge 
   • Avoid store cards

Personal finance rebuild is a marathon and its best handle with patience and decisive action. Good luck to you!

[FireMedic1]

---

@boomski wrote:

I was active a lot on these boards when going through my first BK7 in 2014. I rebuilt to just sub 700 scores with 30k plus in CL..

the main reason I filed the first BK was job loss and a car accident I was in that I was without health insurance (was waiting for my new employers insurance to kick in) and racked up a $150k hospital bill along with a 1099 from a mortgage that I let strategically default (bought in 08 for 325k, 2012 worth 250, and the renters I had in there destroyed the place to the tune of 60k)

everything was great but the girl I was with got pregnant and I thought I'd step up right away. The baby was born with a rare heart defect and required a 6 month hospitalization. I quit my job, took care of everyone and racked up those cards to live. But, I found out the baby wasn't mine I was happy to have helped and now her and the baby are doing great but when covid hit and 2 companies I was working for went bankrupt... this spring I couldn't keep up and let it all go and filed BK7 again for about $95k... 

I burnt in this BK

NFCU - 20k

cap1 - 7k

synchrony - 10k

On credit karma my scores boosted to the 630's (fakos of course) from the 490's after the BK reflected all my accounts on my CR. The site showed a "guaranteed" approval for a Credit One bank card. Or I'd get $50! Lol so I said why not. It's the first "try" for credit since the BK. I was approved for the Credit One 1% cash back Amex, $2,000 SL with a $39 AF. 

My first credit card after the first BK was a $300 Cap1 card...then a few others with $300-$500 limits. 

I'be been going through the forums here looking for folks' attempts for credit post BK (the BK7 to 700 thread had a lot of outdated info IMO) 

if anyone has a simple game plan to keep my rebuild as fast as possible. I would love to hear it!

thanks everyone and I will update my progress as this goes!

boomski

---

You have enough now to build on. There is no express lane with 2 BK's. Time will do its thing. Be thankful for what you got. Put some money away and save in case any other life events occure. Min 6 months. Build on what you got now. Then look around in 2024.

[MileHigh96]

---

@FireMedic1 wrote:

---

@boomski wrote:

I was active a lot on these boards when going through my first BK7 in 2014. I rebuilt to just sub 700 scores with 30k plus in CL..

the main reason I filed the first BK was job loss and a car accident I was in that I was without health insurance (was waiting for my new employers insurance to kick in) and racked up a $150k hospital bill along with a 1099 from a mortgage that I let strategically default (bought in 08 for 325k, 2012 worth 250, and the renters I had in there destroyed the place to the tune of 60k)

everything was great but the girl I was with got pregnant and I thought I'd step up right away. The baby was born with a rare heart defect and required a 6 month hospitalization. I quit my job, took care of everyone and racked up those cards to live. But, I found out the baby wasn't mine I was happy to have helped and now her and the baby are doing great but when covid hit and 2 companies I was working for went bankrupt... this spring I couldn't keep up and let it all go and filed BK7 again for about $95k... 

I burnt in this BK

NFCU - 20k

cap1 - 7k

synchrony - 10k

On credit karma my scores boosted to the 630's (fakos of course) from the 490's after the BK reflected all my accounts on my CR. The site showed a "guaranteed" approval for a Credit One bank card. Or I'd get $50! Lol so I said why not. It's the first "try" for credit since the BK. I was approved for the Credit One 1% cash back Amex, $2,000 SL with a $39 AF. 

My first credit card after the first BK was a $300 Cap1 card...then a few others with $300-$500 limits. 

I'be been going through the forums here looking for folks' attempts for credit post BK (the BK7 to 700 thread had a lot of outdated info IMO) 

if anyone has a simple game plan to keep my rebuild as fast as possible. I would love to hear it!

thanks everyone and I will update my progress as this goes!

boomski

---

You have enough now to build on. There is no express lane with 2 BK's. Time will do its thing. Be thankful for what you got. Put some money away and save in case any other life events occure. Min 6 months. Build on what you got now. Then look around in 2024.

---

If I read his post correctly, he currently only has one card, the Credit One AmEx card.  The CapOne cards he mentioned he says are the ones he got after his first BK7, so those cards are most likely burned.

[Jeffster1]

---

@Namaste7 wrote:

---

@boomski wrote:

I was active a lot on these boards when going through my first BK7 in 2014. I rebuilt to just sub 700 scores with 30k plus in CL..

[...] 

I'be been going through the forums here looking for folks' attempts for credit post BK (the BK7 to 700 thread had a lot of outdated info IMO) 

if anyone has a simple game plan to keep my rebuild as fast as possible. I would love to hear it!

thanks everyone and I will update my progress as this goes!

boomski

---

I still think the guts of BK to 700 in 24 months is still applicable; however, you may need to make some adjustments for current times

1. Credit report review seems like a logical first step and you can take your specific credit-related questions to the General Credit Topics subforum. 
2. Personal financial plan [seems okay to address concurrent with step 1] is probably more important than the credit repair/rebuild. Based on your prior experiences, what actions can you take to strengthen your financial security? How much money do you want/need to save to cover the future (3, 6, 9, 12 or 24 months): deposits, down payments, home repair, medical, emergencies, etc.? 
   • Establishing a healthy relationship with money and a savings plan will prevent one from having a significant reliance on credit and credit accumulation. This might be an opportunity to streamline your banking relationships to creditors that you might be able to establish a credit relationship in the future: Discover, Bank of America, TD Bank, PenFed, your local/regional credit union. 
   • This might be a good time to consider your long-term savings and retirement planning. 
3. Credit pause - Consider operating on a cash basis for 12 months to acclimate to operating just on the cash/assets you have and not the credit/debt leveraged to you. I know this is not considered in the plan, but perhaps a reasonable first step to get in the drivers seat of financial stability
4. Credit rebuild
   • Avoid store cards 
   • Follow the BK to 700 thread for guidance on how to management payments (PIF) and utilization to optimize scoring 
   • Check the forums for recent references of approvals from Discover, Capital One, BofA secured, Apple Card and any bank card that is lenient to prior BKs <36 months from filing or discharge 
   • Avoid store cards

Personal finance rebuild is a marathon and its best handle with patience and decisive action. Good luck to you!

---

THIS. 

[boomski]

Im very thankful... and I think I agree with you with sitting on this for some time. I was hoping for 1 more card to help the credit mix bring up my score, but honestly, the 2k limit will allow me to get into hotels, car rentals, etc where I have been leaning on my GF as I didn't have a card to use for deposits.

Appreciate the input

[Robs931]

I burned Capital one and a couple weeks after my chapter 7 was discharged I got a Savor One with a 4500 CL.