Hi, I'm a newbie with alot of questions....

[Anonymous]

My husband and I are looking to enter into homeownership BUT we have some hurdles to jump first. Bad FICO scores...CRA reports TU 612 XPN 627 EFX 595. Looking to jump his score and payoff old debts. Goal is 680 by June. I'm not sure where to start in fixing anything. In pulling the credit report, I've learned that there's alot of things that we paid off but it still lists as closed but with balances. Some of the baddies list CO's as part of the history. What does that mean and can I fix it? I also need to know if I can have OC removed from the report because some are listed twice...same account just duplicated on the report. At this point, any help for starting would be nice. Thank you all for reading this and offering advice. Rocky

[Schoolbuskid]

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Rocky25 wrote:
My husband and I are looking to enter into homeownership BUT we have some hurdles to jump first. Bad FICO scores...CRA reports TU 612 XPN 627 EFX 595. Looking to jump his score and payoff old debts. Goal is 680 by June. I'm not sure where to start in fixing anything. In pulling the credit report, I've learned that there's alot of things that we paid off but it still lists as closed but with balances. Some of the baddies list CO's as part of the history. What does that mean and can I fix it? I also need to know if I can have OC removed from the report because some are listed twice...same account just duplicated on the report. At this point, any help for starting would be nice. Thank you all for reading this and offering advice. Rocky

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If you have any credit cards it is advisable to get overall util between 1-9% as this is the quickest way to see a score boost! Seems like the CRA's and CA's  havent updated your information yet, i would simply dispute whats inaccurate first as well as the duplicate OC account! Also its a good idea to keep all hard copies of you credit reports just for the sake of having proof of any changes and having a papertrail.

[Anonymous]

Hi Rocky25,

Welcome to the forum.

I would recommend that you first pull your CR directly from each CRA. If you did, then update all personal INFO before starting any credit repair. Have as many old addresses and phone # 's removed as possible. This will make it more difficult for CA's to verify info.

I would dispute all items with inaccuacies. They may just get deleted. Especially if they are already paid. Alot of times the CA will not bother to verify if they have been paid.

A CO is a Charge Off . These are Bad. Big Point Deduc (30 - 60 Pts) Paid are better than unpaid, especially in lenders eyes. Most will not consider a loan until these are paid.

Once you file disputes, items that come back as verified by CRA's, next step is to DV each CA. or if already paid then try GW letters to get items removed.

This should be enough to get you started.

Do you have any accts in good standing? Avail Credit??  Balances??

[Anonymous]

If you'll list your accounts and all the dates, as well as SOL for your state, which you can find here:

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cc/20040116b2.asp?caret=8

You can get more accurate help. Without specifically knowing what you have, it is hard to advise you.

The accounts that you say are duplicated, are they listed by the OC and the CA? If so, that is legal.

Some OC's have their own collection dept and that dept list also.

You don't always want to dispute first, as waiting for the dispute to come back may close your 30 day window to DV.

Message Edited by sidewinder on 03-28-2008 06:51 AM