DESPERATELY SEEKING ADVICE !

[BOSSYHOTMESS]

Long time creeper now newly info seeker sorry for the long post but wanted to provide enough info for all. We have 60 days to move out of rental home due to it being sold. Looking to obtain VA home loan sooner rather than later and refi automobiles.

 We had a lender pull our credit on 8/30 her recommend was to settle spouse (macys, merrick, and pay santander down to 11,350) for me to settle (wellsfargo commenity, pay down nfcu go 3,330, nfcu rewards to 6200) and then she could rescore . Somehow i missed writting down our current score i think they are around 530 with rescore 580. Our credit problems arose in 2014 when my husband lost his job and was only able to find pt work we are back on track he has been employed 2yrs and myself 16 yrs.

What are some of the recommends of the board to raise mortgage score and to obtain automobile refi?

monthly income =6400 bills total 4805.00 a month yrly 130k

Current accounts: 100% on time payments 

NFCU CASH REWARDS  owe 7980 CL 8500 opened 11/16

NFCU GO REWARDS     owe  3997 CL 4500  opened 12/17

CREDIT ONE                   owe   2.47 CL 450     

CREDIT ONE                      0.00 CL 800

AUTO:

Santander auto loan        425.00   bal. 13880.25 pay 50.00 extra ea.month

co signer on capital one loan 6/19/19 563.00  loan 24327 

CHARGE OFFS/COLLECTIONS

Macy's   382.00 CL 200 C/O  DOFD 10/1/14

Capitol 1   382.00  collections portfolio 

Comentity 463.00    collections portfolio DOFD 1/1/2015

WFB 520.00 CL 500 c/o  DOFD 9/1/14

Wellsfargo Dealer Services 8626.00 repo listed as C/O  2/18

Barclay  853 CL 500 collection portfolio paid off 9/7/19 DOFD 9/1/2015 still showing bal

SPOUSES: (He is the Veteran)

A/U CREDIT ONE  

co signer on santander auto loan

CHARGEOFFS

Wellsfargo dealer 8626.00 repo 2/2018

great american finance paid off (garnishment)7/2019 still showing past due 1560 

Merrick    bal 1527.00 CL 1200  9/1/14

1st Premier   bal 1076 CL 700    10/1/14

Windstream   bal 871.00 collection credit mgmt Lp  6/18

Macys   bal 671 CL 400.00   10/1/14

cu ga 208.00 

carter young (medical) 89.00

capitol one 463.00 collections portfolio 

[Hut1]

If I may ask, what area/state are you in?

[BOSSYHOTMESS]

We live in Georgia.

[AllZero]

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@BOSSYHOTMESS wrote:

Long time creeper now newly info seeker sorry for the long post but wanted to provide enough info for all. We have 60 days to move out of rental home due to it being sold. Looking to obtain VA home loan sooner rather than later and refi automobiles.

 We had a lender pull our credit on 8/30 her recommend was to settle spouse (macys, merrick, and pay santander down to 11,350) for me to settle (wellsfargo commenity, pay down nfcu go 3,330, nfcu rewards to 6200) and then she could rescore . Somehow i missed writting down our current score i think they are around 530 with rescore 580. Our credit problems arose in 2014 when my husband lost his job and was only able to find pt work we are back on track he has been employed 2yrs and myself 16 yrs.

What are some of the recommends of the board to raise mortgage score and to obtain automobile refi?

monthly income =6400 bills total 4805.00 a month yrly 130k

Current accounts: 100% on time payments 

NFCU CASH REWARDS  owe 7980 CL 8500 opened 11/16

NFCU GO REWARDS     owe  3997 CL 4500  opened 12/17

CREDIT ONE                   owe   2.47 CL 450     

CREDIT ONE                      0.00 CL 800

AUTO:

Santander auto loan        425.00   bal. 13880.25 pay 50.00 extra ea.month

co signer on capital one loan 6/19/19 563.00  loan 24327 

CHARGE OFFS/COLLECTIONS

Macy's   382.00 CL 200 C/O  DOFD 10/1/14

Capitol 1   382.00  collections portfolio 

Comentity 463.00    collections portfolio DOFD 1/1/2015

WFB 520.00 CL 500 c/o  DOFD 9/1/14

Wellsfargo Dealer Services 8626.00 repo listed as C/O  2/18

Barclay  853 CL 500 collection portfolio paid off 9/7/19 DOFD 9/1/2015 still showing bal

SPOUSES: (He is the Veteran)

A/U CREDIT ONE  

co signer on santander auto loan

CHARGEOFFS

Wellsfargo dealer 8626.00 repo 2/2018

great american finance paid off (garnishment)7/2019 still showing past due 1560 

Merrick    bal 1527.00 CL 1200  9/1/14

1st Premier   bal 1076 CL 700    10/1/14

Windstream   bal 871.00 collection credit mgmt Lp  6/18

Macys   bal 671 CL 400.00   10/1/14

cu ga 208.00 

carter young (medical) 89.00

capitol one 463.00 collections portfolio 

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1. Your credit card utilization is killing your score. Do you have the ability to pay down your debt?

2. Your charge offs / collections is killing your score. Do you have the ability to repay and request Pay For Delete?

[Hut1]

Georgia can be a bit expensive depending on where you live. I only asked to get an idea of cost of living. 

So, this would be my very humble opinion on my experience of how to stretch a dollar to accomplish a goal. Firstly, no one should rush a mortgage app. The difference a 0.5% APR reduction can make based off your score can mean the savings of tens of thousands of dollars over the life of your loan. Secondly, while VA loans have more lenient requirements for approvals, your score can still dictate how much you are approved for and even though there is not necessarily a minimum score, most lenders would still like to see at least a 620+.

If I were in your position, I would slow down and focus on one item at a time. Owning your own home is a 'want', so there's no timeline you have to follow or countdown you have to beat. Apply when you are ready and in the best posssible postion for a favorable outcome.

Here are my suggestions:

1. Reduce your monthly outgoing expenses by
   
   1. renting a cheap apartment that covers your bare minimum needs. (ie: an extra br/ba is nice to have, but not financially prudent)
   2. cancel cable/gym memberships/subscription services, move phone plans to prepaid like Virgin mobile $35/mo unlimited plan.
   3. Create a meal plan and eat at home and take pre-prepped lunches to work.
2. List out all collections by either writing them on a poster, creating an excel sheet, etc.. (this starts the reward center of the brain working)
3. Contact each collector to discuss a pay for delete option. If they agree, get it in writing before sending payment.
4. Start with your pay for delete accts first and pay them off with all the money you're saving when you downgraded your expenses! Since they will be deleted once paid, you'll see immediate score increases.

There's no magical button any of us can push to make this process move quickly, so I hope you and your spouse have patience as a virtue. Just try to remain steadfast and keep chugging away.

I'm also interested to hear others opinions as well. Good luck to you both!

[Anonymous]

+1
I have been flipping houses for years. Never needed a loan before and once I found a home I wanted I had to get a lender. They will tell you anything to get your app started. Once in the process they will lead you along and finally say you will need to remove those bad or delinquent accounts. I had 3 CO's from 5 years ago. Had a 700 score. I had 20% down. They said I could not get approved until those CO's were taken care of. And even with my score being over 700 they claimed my rate would still not be that great because of 2 30 day lates on a target card from 2014. I would advise anyone to clean up your report as best as possible before buying a house. I am sure lenders all have different methods, techniques and thoughts on what profile they can get approved. But I think they will ALL tell you the same thing to get you in the door, "I can get you approved no probpem". I just don't trust agents or lenders anymore. Been working around them too long to see and hear the truth behind the scenes. Bottom line is... Clean up your file and be in charge of your loan. Don't be at their mercy. Also be careful cause they will start pulling your credit every couple weeks and those inquiries add up. JMO

[CreditInspired]

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Hi OP and welcome to MyFICO

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but this is not happening in 60 days.  You really need a minimum of 12 months because so much is going on with you and your DH credit profiles.

1. So has anything changed from when the lender pulled your report 3 weeks ago? Have you paid off and/or paid down any of the debts she suggested?
2. Those two carnotes totalling $988 is an ouch but the good thing is that you have a healthy income. Lenders use monthly gross--so yours is $10,833, not $6400. 
3. Are you and/or DH contributing to a 401K? Honestly, and I'm going to get some backlash over this, but if the answer is yes, you should only contribute the match until you get some of this debt paid off.
4. What is the APR on all your open CC accounts? If interest is less than the car, put that $50 additional a month toward CC debt.
5. How much money do you have saved to put toward this debt? How much money do you have in your 401K that can be borrowed. The nice thing about borrowing from one's 401K is the interest rate is low and you're paying yourself back.

But really, the main question is, what have you done since you met the LO in August?

[Anonymous]

If you are applying for a mortgage with the credit score and history you have you can still get approved for a VA loan. I originate mortgages with credit scores down to a 550 score daily its just considered a manual underwritten loan. The underwriter is looking to make sure you do not have a bankruptcy or foreclosure in the past 2 years and good rental history over the past 12 months. Not all lenders write manual loans.

<Mod Edit: Contact information may not be shared publicly or in private messages on myFICO.  Thank you. - KiB>

[CreditInspired]

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@Anonymous wrote:

If you are applying for a mortgage with the credit score and history you have you can still get approved for a VA loan. I originate mortgages with credit scores down to a 550 score daily its just considered a manual underwritten loan. The underwriter is looking to make sure you do not have a bankruptcy or foreclosure in the past 2 years and good rental history over the past 12 months. Not all lenders write manual loans.  

<Mod Edit: Contact information may not be shared publicly or in private messages on myFICO.  Thank you. - KiB>

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Your contact info and website are a no-no. It will be removed.

[BOSSYHOTMESS]

@AllZero Thanks for the advice !

1. Your credit card utilization is killing your score. Do you have the ability to pay down your debt?

yes we have paid down NFCU $7960 TO $5815  (CL8500) & $3997 TO $2993 (CL4500)

2. . Your charge offs / collections is killing your score. Do you have the ability to repay and request Pay For Delete?

Settled the following: WFB 520.00 CL 500 c/o DOFD 9/1/14,  Merrick bal 1527.00 CL 1200 9/1/14

Currently working on settling others.