Why is my score so high and what do I do next, Post BK?

[Steveo777]

Hello, I filed CH7 on 05/11/2021

So my credit scores, according to Credit Karma are TU 706 and EQ 647. I burned over 30 Creditors, including Capital One, Merrick, Barclays, Amex, Discover, and almost every known Synchrony. All the baddies show zero balance and included in CH7. Prior to filing, I had a Cap One with a 20k limit, another one with a 10K, a Credit One with a 2.5k limit, all closed, paid as agreed and zero balances, and a 2k limit visa on a small credit union. I've had a relationship with the small CU for over 30 years, used to be on the board of directors, etc. I called them and asked if I reaffirmed my account, would they let me keep it open and they told me yes. So, I have a $900 balance on that card that I could pay off on next payday and the interest rate is stuck at 12.90 fixed, as it has been for years. I went ahead and reaffirmed that account, which has been open over 10 years. Amount of BK $285K.

Positives:

AAOC 7 years, 4 mos.

4% credit card utililization. (They must be counting that other 30.5k in closed zero balances and perfect pay history)

3 Paid as agreed car loans with zero balances, prior to BK.

I've already had the meeting of the creditors and there were no assets, other than what I could exempt.

Discharge expected any time.

So now I plot my reestablishment, as we want to buy a home. We have no forclosures in the past.

What card or loan should I apply for next?

Thanks in advance!

[dragontears]

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@Steveo777 wrote:

Hello, I filed CH7 on 05/11/2021

So my credit scores, according to Credit Karma are TU 706 and EQ 647. I burned over 30 Creditors, including Capital One, Merrick, Barclays, Amex, Discover, and almost every known Synchrony. All the baddies show zero balance and included in CH7. Prior to filing, I had a Cap One with a 20k limit, another one with a 10K, a Credit One with a 2.5k limit, all closed, paid as agreed and zero balances, and a 2k limit visa on a small credit union. I've had a relationship with the small CU for over 30 years, used to be on the board of directors, etc. I called them and asked if I reaffirmed my account, would they let me keep it open and they told me yes. So, I have a $900 balance on that card that I could pay off on next payday and the interest rate is stuck at 12.90 fixed, as it has been for years. I went ahead and reaffirmed that account, which has been open over 10 years. Amount of BK $285K.

Positives:

AAOC 7 years, 4 mos.

4% credit card utililization. (They must be counting that other 30.5k in closed zero balances and perfect pay history)

3 Paid as agreed car loans with zero balances, prior to BK.

I've already had the meeting of the creditors and there were no assets, other than what I could exempt.

Discharge expected any time.

So now I plot my reestablishment, as we want to buy a home. We have no forclosures in the past.

What card or loan should I apply for next?

Thanks in advance!

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Your scores are so "high" because you are looking at Vantage 3 scores which almost no lender uses. You should check your FICO scores before applying for anything. 

Prepare yourself to either wait or go the secured card route 

[Steveo777]

Yes, of course those are Vantage scores. I will run a 3 bureau FICO once I get the BK discharge. A car loan will be super easy to get and I may just get a car and use the credit card that is open, as I can pay it off in full every month. So, I will not be surprised if after some time Cap One lets me back in. I'm gonna leave them sleep for about a year.

Thanks for the reply.

[CH-7-Mission-Accomplished]

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@Steveo777 wrote:

Yes, of course those are Vantage scores. I will run a 3 bureau FICO once I get the BK discharge. A car loan will be super easy to get and I may just get a car and use the credit card that is open, as I can pay it off in full every month. So, I will not be surprised if after some time Cap One lets me back in. I'm gonna leave them sleep for about a year.

Thanks for the reply.

---

As said above, Vantage scores are pretty worthless.   What I have learned having tracked BK's since I filed in 2013 is that the score you get upon filing and discharge is largely based on the debt you included in your BK.    

So people who only had, say, medical debt, but no credit card debt, sometimes will have initial scores in the low 600s.   For most people (like you), the score is somewhere between 500 - 550 post-discharge.

I think you have a good plan to wait until everything updates as discharged and included in the BK and get a baseline actual FICO score.

I would encourage you to seriously consider buying a reliable used car while your scores are still in the 500s.  

Think perhaps a Honda or a Toyota or such that you can buy for say 12K and put 25% down.    Use that vehicle for a year or two and once your scores jump, especially after one year post-discharge, you can get financing that is close to market rate.   Please do not go out and buy a 40K car fresh out of a BK with scores of 550.    It''s a really bad idea.

[Steveo777]

As of today I have now signed up for FICO 3 Bureau.

My FICO 9 are Eq 667 TU 669 Ex 609

FICO 8 are 613,580 and 547

Since I reaffirmed the one credit union Visa with the $2k limit and they agreed to let us stay business as usual, I at least have a card with a lot of age reporting. Unfortunately, that Credit union is loose on approvals, but conservative on limits. I'm shooting for being able to buy a house, so anything that is going to get me there is what I'm interested in. I've got a paid off car so can go awhile without buying one, but I also know it's easy to get a car loan after BK.

I figure I should be able to get a VA home loan in around 2 years, but I need more good acounts in my file.

[Horseshoez]

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@Steveo777 wrote:

As of today I have now signed up for FICO 3 Bureau.

My FICO 9 are Eq 667 TU 669 Ex 609

FICO 8 are 613,580 and 547

Since I reaffirmed the one credit union Visa with the $2k limit and they agreed to let us stay business as usual, I at least have a card with a lot of age reporting. Unfortunately, that Credit union is loose on approvals, but conservative on limits. I'm shooting for being able to buy a house, so anything that is going to get me there is what I'm interested in. I've got a paid off car so can go awhile without buying one, but I also know it's easy to get a car loan after BK.

I figure I should be able to get a VA home loan in around 2 years, but I need more good acounts in my file.

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You're pretty much where I was a year ago in virtually every aspect.  Our plan is to buy a home in about a year and in the meantime we're going to ride both of our fully paid for cars and take steps to build our credit.  The adivce I've learned from this site is as follows:

• Obtain a mininum of 3 credit cards, secured or unsecured, it matters not.
• Once you've landed all of the cards you want/need, do NOT apply for any more until after you apply for your mortgage.
• Keep the credit cards paid to the point where little or no balance reports each month.
• Set up an SSL (Secured Share Loan) and pay it down to under 9% and then let it ride until after you apply for your mortgage.

I've followed the above directives and in just the last 10 months my FICO 8 scores have risen by an average of 70 points each into the high 600s, my FICO mortgage scores have risen roughly 40 points each up into the low to mid 700s, and my FICO 9 scores have risen roughly 50 points each.

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

[jmw1]

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@Steveo777 wrote:

As of today I have now signed up for FICO 3 Bureau.

My FICO 9 are Eq 667 TU 669 Ex 609

FICO 8 are 613,580 and 547

Since I reaffirmed the one credit union Visa with the $2k limit and they agreed to let us stay business as usual, I at least have a card with a lot of age reporting. Unfortunately, that Credit union is loose on approvals, but conservative on limits. I'm shooting for being able to buy a house, so anything that is going to get me there is what I'm interested in. I've got a paid off car so can go awhile without buying one, but I also know it's easy to get a car loan after BK.

I figure I should be able to get a VA home loan in around 2 years, but I need more good acounts in my file.

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You need to work on your mortgage scores, not any of the other FICO scores.  If you ordered from myfico, the three mortgage scores came with your purchase. The goal is the mortgage in a few years.

[Steveo777]

Working on the mortgage scores make sense.

Currently at: 646, 648 and 550. Now I need to be very good. 😁