Rebuilding Journey-- Planning to purchase a home after 2 year wait

[Faith_Hope]

Hey Everyone,

I just wanted to share me and by DH's rebuilding journey with hopes to help someone else in theirs. I'm hoping to also receive advice from others that have purchased a home after the 2-year wait. 

Filed Joint BK7 Sept. 2017 and discharged Dec. 2017. My spouse and I burned the following:

Me: Amex Charge Card, Amex Blue Cash, Chase Marriott, Cap 1 Quicksilver, & Credit One

Husband: Delta Amex, Chase Sapphire, Discover, Capital One Plat., & Macy's. 

My Rebuilding Journey

Starting Score: 548

Discover secured ($500)- 1 month post bk - my card still has not graduated and no prequal offer available- Credit Score: 548

PenFed Auto Approval (23k)- 7 months post bk- initally denied but recon w/ same day approval-no downpayment. Credit Score: 620

First Premier ($500)- 7 months post bk- ugh...I hate this card- Credit Score: 620

Ollo ($300)- 8 months post bk- Received mail offer; I absolutely love ollo  - Credit Score: 632

Merrick Bank ($700)- 11 months post bk- EQ HP - responded to mail offer - Credit Score: 649

PayPal Credit ($1,500)- 11.5 months post bk- EQ HP; I initially received the 7-10 day message. Received a call the day after to verify identity. Upon verification, I was instantly approved. Credit became available the same day.

OverStock ($350) - 11.5 months post bk- SCT EXP HP- Credit Score: 645

Target Red Store Card ($300)- 11.5 months post bk- EQ HP; Initially received the 7-10 day message. Called 800-424-6888, spoke w/ rep that stated that they needed to verify my identity. Was told that my app required further review and that I would receive notification via mail 7-10 days. Called back 2 after to check status and was told that I was approved.- Credit Score: 639

Denials: Barclay Apple Reward- 9 months post bk | Amazon Store Card w/ Synchrony- 11 months post bk | Bed Bath & Beyond MC w/ Comenity Still no prequal offer from Cap 1 

My Husband's Rebuild Journey

Starting Score: 575

Premier 1st ($500)- 7 months post bk- responded to mail offer - Credit Score: 575

Ollo Rewards ($600)- 10.5 months post bk-prequal and applied directly through credit karma- Credit Score: 640 

Cap 1 QS One ($1k)- 11 months post bk- prequal on Cap 1 site. Required further review. Approved upon verification of identity. Received approval email 1 day after verification. - Credit Score: 660

Victoria Secret ($250)- 11.5 months post bk- SCT.  Credit Score: 649

Cap 1 Auto- Kept his account open although he didn't reaffirm so that has really helped his credit. 

Denials: None... he refuses to apply for anything that he isn't pre-approved or pre-qualifed for. 

Preparing/Planning to purchase our first home

My husband and I are planning to garden from Jan. 2019- Dec. 2019. 

Right after our 2 year mark, we plan on purchasing our first home. Does anyone have advice that we could use during our gardening season? What's the best/quickest method to boost credit scores. I'm nervous and haven't really came across success stories for first time buyers. 

We both have 100% on-time payment hx, no collections, bk7 is the only deragotory mark on credit. Household income is 6 figs.  Is it safe to look at new construction homes at least 1 month prior to 2 year mark or should we wait until after the 2 year mark? Any feedback is greatly appreciated. 

[Anonymous]

What I would say is use your cc’s but stay less than 30% of Utilization. At this point it’s just a matter of timing and not to increase your DTI. My Husband and I filed 3/2018 and buying our home on contract and are waiting as well. My Financial Institution told me what I’ve stated to you. I hope some of this helps.

[Faith_Hope]

Thank you for your reply, 4mommylove! Your feedback is greatly appreciated. Early Congrats on the home! Did you file C11?

DH and I are super excited about it and are anxiously waiting for that time to come. Similar to your response, we were told to rotate balances on our cards and keep utilization below 20%. We don’t plan to incur new debt this year. Praying that all goes well throughout the year and that we will finally be able to purchase a house. Thanks again for your feedback.

[Anonymous]

You’re welcome. We filed CH 7. It sounds like you are on track with what to do; which is great. The hard part is the waiting. Praying that all will go well with you all!!!

[DIYcredit]

Your whole credit picture says to me that you have numerous recent apps.recent new cc accounts open, and a auto loan.This is a great mix and alot of cc's.You should use all these open credit accts to continue paying everything ontime,keep balances way below 10% on cc's and no more apps.Learn the AZEO method before your mortguage app. GOOD LUCK.