Got GW from Amex, but now have a question.

[Anonymous]

I had an account opened in 2000 that is on my CR with the status of paid, closed/collection account.  I GW'd amex and I got a letter back from them saying they would delete this information my credit CR's.  I was super excited, but now I am wondering if this will help or hurt my credit actually.

I don't have a very long credit history on my report.  Does this account count toward that credit history time??  Will deleting it actually hurt me or will getting rid of the collection help me??

I also have another Amex account that is a positive on my CR, but it also states closed at credit grantors request.  This is true, but I am wondering if that statment hurts me at all??

[Anonymous]

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hgolf1848 wrote:

Does this account count toward that credit history time??

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Yes.

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hgolf1848 wrote:

Will deleting it actually hurt me or will getting rid of the collection help me??

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Yes and yes.

If it is your oldest tradeline, then when it falls off, your score may suffer.

On the other hand, losing a collection will help.

The net change will be in the direction of whichever effect is greater.  A collection that old probably wasn't hurting you that much, though.

Still, even if your score suffers temporarily due to the loss of your oldest account, having a cleaner report (one fewer collection account) will only help you going forward.

[Anonymous]

Right now I am at an average of a little over 4 years 2 months among all my accounts.  Losing that Amex account will take my average to 3 years 11 months.  If I lose the other two accounts I am GW'ing it will take my average to 3 years 4 months.  Do you think this will cause too much damage??

Also this is not my oldest, but is my third oldest if that makes a difference.

Message Edited by hgolf1848 on 12-31-2007 08:51 AM

[Anonymous]

Same situation as you - lost my oldest account because of GW on their part (long story) - score crashed but time will fix that.  Feels much beter to have the baddie gone and a perfect payment history on what I do have left.  Another 10 months and I'll have 2 years of 100% on time history - it's worth the year of a lower score to me to have the 100%

[Anonymous]

I guess my main concern is that I am trying to get my scores up to purchase a house in the next 6 months to a year.  Do you think it is worth GW'ing my other paid collections that are fairly old, in order to have a clean report when the mortgage company pulls my reports??

[Anonymous]

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hgolf1848 wrote:

I guess my main concern is that I am trying to get my scores up to purchase a house in the next 6 months to a year.  Do you think it is worth GW'ing my other paid collections that are fairly old, in order to have a clean report when the mortgage company pulls my reports??

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IMO, when it comes to mortgages, scores are more important than clean reports when the baddies are all as old as yours.

Unpaid collections could be a problem, but it sounds like yours are all paid.

BTW, the account you mentioned you GW'd in your first post was over 7 years old and was likely obsolete anyway.  It should have fallen off on its own before you were mortgage shopping in 6 mos to a year.

[Anonymous]

Not all collections are paid, but that is just a matter of time.  I have already had success with a couple of PFD's and am dv'ing a couple right now.  I have the money to PFD if they do validate those.

As far as the account goes from earlier.  The account was opened in 2000, but was not deliquent until 03 so I still have until 2010 before it drops off.

[Anonymous]

Payment history is 35% of your score - age only 10% --- in six months you will have aged to the next level again (over 4 years).

BTW, wait until AUG-DEC to buy ---- spring fever and school rush are over -- sellers are still left and wnating to sell with the prospect of wating another 6 months for the next rush.

AS an agent I only buy in Oct-Dec --- because I can leverage the slower market.

[Anonymous]

So it is a year by year level as far as aging goes?  That is good to know.  Thanks for all your help and the suggestion on buying.  Right now my fiance and I are looking at getting married this summer and buying a house in the December time frame so it sounds like we should stick to that plan.

[haulingthescoreup]

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@Anonymous wrote:

So it is a year by year level as far as aging goes? That is good to know. Thanks for all your help and the suggestion on buying. Right now my fiance and I are looking at getting married this summer and buying a house in the December time frame so it sounds like we should stick to that plan.

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It's a year for overall aging. For recent activity on your reports, there are little mini-birthdays along the way for new accounts, late payments and so forth (3 months, 6 months, etc.) As each gets a little older, your scores generally ooch up a bit, as long as everything else is OK. (just fyi)