New to board...have questions

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone.  I am new to this forum and have some questions for you guys.

I am in the process of buying a new home and have been pre-approved with a good rate...my FICO is 610.  I found out that if I can raise it just 10 points to a 620, that I can save $90 a month in PMI.  I have a great DTI ratio and good employment history.

Here is my situation...

Auto...never late....opened Sept 05...balance $7500, borrowed $13,000

Capital One....4 months old....never late....$500 limit....balance $123

(Cap One was reporting the same limit as my balance....I called them and they filed a dispute with the credit bureaus to update the limit...it hasn't been updated yet)

Credit One CC...8 months old...never late....$200 limit....$40 balance

Student Loan....owe about $5K, pay minimum of $42...hasn't been late in three years but shows some 30 day lates in the history.

I also have a paid state tax lien and a paid medical collection that report.

There is some negative history in my past, but nothing has been late in almost three years.

Do you know if a GW letter sent to the state of the tax lien would have it removed?  Would it hurt to try?  And should I open another CC?  I am afraid of sabotaging myself.

Please let me know if you have any pointers.  The faster I can raise my score, the better, but I know that time will probably be the biggest factor. 

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

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bsf56 wrote:

I am in the process of buying a new home and have been pre-approved with a good rate...my FICO is 610.  I found out that if I can raise it just 10 points to a 620, that I can save $90 a month in PMI.  I have a great DTI ratio and good employment history.

Here is my situation...

Capital One....4 months old....never late....$500 limit....balance $123

(Cap One was reporting the same limit as my balance....I called them and they filed a dispute with the credit bureaus to update the limit...it hasn't been updated yet)

Credit One CC...8 months old...never late....$200 limit....$40 balance

I also have a paid state tax lien and a paid medical collection that report.

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Any unpaid collections or chargeoffs?

For any lates, paid collections, paid chargeoffs, try GW.

With the paid tax lien, those are usually court records, not reporting to the CRAs per se. Nothing to really GW.

Definitely try to GW the medical collection.

Credit One CC is at 20% util. Pay it down to 5% util ($10 balance). Between 1 and 9 is ideal.

For Cap 1, check your balance, use one of the convenience checks and cash it. Max the CC out to the penny. If you're not comfortable with that, then max it to $480. Wait a couple days, then pay it down to 5% util ($25 balance). I'd do an online payment to ensure it's there.