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Rebuilding Credit

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amartin89
Member

Rebuilding Credit

After 2 divorces and identity theft my credit has taken a major hit. I finally have it under control with 2 Capital One credit cards, with a credit limit of $800 combined and a new car loan on my credit. I have no collection accounts on my credit and no past due accounts. I started in June 2012 with a credit score of 426 and now have a TU 639, Equifax 625 and Experian 600. Basically my credit is at a stand still simply creeping up a point here and a point there. I want to purchase a home next year and I have a goal score of 750 by June 2014 so I need some suggestions on how to get credit. I get turned down because I don't have enough revolving credit. Any suggestions??

Message 1 of 5
4 REPLIES 4
HoldingOntoHope
Valued Contributor

Re: Rebuilding Credit

Welcome to the forums!! Time itself will take care of your scoring. If all these accounts were established around 06/12 then you will probably see some increase in score after they turn a year old. Also you can try to make sure that your utilization is optimal on the two revolving accounts. You want one of them to report a zero balance at statement time and the other to report a >9% balance, so assuming they are both at $400 CL then you want $36 or less to report on the second account.

 

I also noticed that you are giving all three scores. The chances are that the scores you have may not be FICO scores. You cannot readily obtain an Experian FICO score unless it is through a lender or a few limited credit unions. If you are pulling your scores from a 3 in 1 report site then they are what we call FAKO scores. Your real FICO scores will probably be different. You may do well to pull either your Transunion or Equifax score from this site (or both if you are curious and wish to spend the money just to see where you truly stand.

 

You will also want to browse the forums, especially the sticky posts related to credit scoring to get a better idea of what to do to keep your credit scores going in a positive direction. But rest assured with 2 credit cards and a car loan (installment loan) you are on track to build a great credit future. And as long as you pay on time then home ownership is very possibly in your near future.

Best financial advice I ever got: "Just imagine what an adult would do and do that."

Starting Score: 500's
Current Score: EQ 701 (FICO) TU 721 (FICO) EX 715 (Quizzle)
Goal Score: 760 ALL


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Message 2 of 5
InvincibleSummer3
Established Contributor

Re: Rebuilding Credit

Welcome!

 

The best place I've found to start is this thread, which will talk you through how credit scores are calculated:

 

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/Your-Guide-to-Credit-Scoring/m-p/718550#U7185...

 

What balances do you have on your credit cards? The limits won't matter, but the balances can affect your utilization. Do you have any collections, charge-offs, public records on your reports? You can go to annualcreditreport.com to get a free copy, which is highly recommended as a first step.

 

Also, where are you getting your scores?

Message 3 of 5
amartin89
Member

Re: Rebuilding Credit

My FICO score is 632 that is from this website and my other scores are directly from the 3 credit bureaus websites. I keep my credit cards at 13% utilization because I see the most increase with them being between 13% and 16%. I have no collections, chargeoffs, public records or liens on my credit. I pay the monthly subscription to all 3 credit bureaus so that I can check my credit daily.

Message 4 of 5
Walt_K
Senior Contributor

Re: Rebuilding Credit

What negative info do you have on your reports?  Sounds like it is only late payments.  You can try to write letters asking for goodwill deletions on those.  If the companies won't delete them, then you'll just have to wait for them to age off.

 

If you do have lates, a lot of people see a decent score bump when all late payments age past the two year mark.


Starting Score: ~500 (12/01/2008)
Current Score: EQ 681 (04/05/13); TU 98 728 (01/06/12), TU 08? 760 (provided by Barclay 1/2/14), TU 04 728 (lender pull 01/12/12); EX 742 (lender pull 01/12/12)
Goal Score: 720


Take the FICO Fitness Challenge
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