Needing some wise counsel...

[tbone74]

As I’ve perused the various topics of the forum, the general consensus appears to be ‘time’.  With that being said, I’d like to see if there are any other avenues I might take to help expedite my FICO scores in the upward direction.

 

Negatives-          CH. 13 discharged in 2007

                                Collections (All paid in full as of 03/09)

                                Excessive Inquires

  

Positives-            Credit Union Credit Card (unsecured) $1000  (8 month history, never late)

                                Auto Loan (14 month history, never late)

                                X2 Signature Loans - $2300 and $4000 remaining

                                Seasonal Loan (Credit Union Special) - $500 remaining

                                Student Loan

 

Given the information above, is there anything that I can do to help my situation?  Additionally, my credit card balance was at $960.  I just paid the balance to 0…however, it hasn’t reported yet.  What type of change can I expect to my FICO score when this reports?

 

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks in advance

Starting Today:  04/23/09 -  FICO/ TU: 508 EF: 533  FAKO/ EXP: 588

[llecs]

Welcome to the forums!

There's nothing you can do about the BK or the inquiries, other than to let time go by, as you mentioned. You will see a large score increase if you get the CAs removed. Whether paid or unapid, whether you owe $0 or $10,000, the presence of a CA on your CR is equally damaging. Send each CA a GW asking them to remove.

Good job on paying the sole CC off or down. You could see at least a 30 point increase just by that. Also, your mix of credit is taking a small hit. Dod not do this yet, but once your scores reach into the high-600s, and assuming you aren't planning to buy a home or car within the next 12 months following that point, then you may want to consider adding another revolving CC and a charge card like store or gas. Doing that will really help, though you can easily have scores into the mid to high-700s without those two new CCs.

[tbone74]

Thanks you very much for the feedback!  We do intent on purchasing a home w/in the next 12 months (VA Loan).  So with that, I'll hold of on opening another revolving account.  Could you clarify "your mix of credit" is taking a hit too?  Does that mean the types of credit I currently have or the amount of open accounts I have? 

Thanks again for everyone's time!

[tbone74]

I'm a terrible proof reader as you can tell..lol

[Anonymous]

If you have only 1 CC, let it report a very small balance. You will get dinged for having 0% revolving utilization.

Check the "Freq Requested Threads" for Credit Scoring 101.

[llecs]

And to add, when I first started rebuilding my credit, I had 0 CCs. I became a FICO junkie by that point and pulled my reports a few times each month. I noticed that when I added my first CC, a revolving TL, my scores shot way up. I added a second revolving CC and again my scores went up a little, even after the first reported with a $0 balance. Finally, my third to report was a store charge card and again, my FICOs went up more than for the second CC. After that, cards 4-12 eventually reported over the next couple of years and my scores dropped every single time. I figured that the mix that FICO talks about (I think 10% of your score) played a big part into that initial increase. And as Sidewinder mentioned, it is a WHOLE lot easier managing util on several cards vs one.