Is there anything more I can do?

[Anonymous]

I suspect I already know the answer to this but I figure I'd check anyways.

Here's the situation:

FICO:  EQ 685 EX 683 TU 711

I am completely debt free as of Sept, after paying off tens of thousands of $ in CC and loan debt.

I have 5 CCs...4 of which I got in the last year when my FICO improved enough for me to be able to be approved for credit cards again.  One I use regularly and pay off the balance each month.  The other 4 are for emergency use only and all have no balance.  No loans or mortgage.  Car is paid for.  No collections, judgements, or bankruptcies.  I do have 26 late payments on my report, as well as a vehicle repo that resulted in a settlement which has been paid.  All of this happened in late '03 - early '04 when I lost my job and was considering bankruptcy.  Didn't end up filing though and spent the next few years paying off all of the debt.  My FICO scores haven't really moved at all since I made my last debt payment.  I'd like to improve them as much as possible (hopefully all >700) because I am planning on buying a home in a year, and want the best rates possible.  Doesn't look like they'll go up that much because it doesn't seem like there's anything more I can do, except continue to pay bills on time, etc.  Is this correct?  Also, am I really going to have to wait until 2011 when all of the bad stuff falls off my report in order to be able to have credit better than just "kinda good"?

[Anonymous]

I would GW for removal - working from the first one you paid off until the last... and just keep rotating thru them until they either remove it or it falls off.  Watch what reports on the one card (only under 10% of CL should report - doesn't matter if you PIF each month if the util for the one card is high on your report).

Time can add points - as baddies age and new accounts age also.

[Anonymous]

I'm in almost the same spot. I don't know there is much more to do than wait, and keep the cards low.

Listening for anyone with more info then me.

TBR

[Anonymous]

GW the lates - and also the paid repo. Chrysler (Chase) removed a paid repo my sister had after 4 years.  Chances are you won't receive replies to all your GW's - but keep trying every 30-45 days. Never give up. Are all your lates of the 30-day type? Work on the most recent lates first.

I would suggest you might want to consider getting a store card and a gas card to improve your credit mix.  I have 4 CC's, 2 AMEX cards, a store card and a gas card. I keep small balances on 2 cc's (<5%). The other two have zero balances. 

Continue paying on time, that and the natural aging of your cards will move you up.