Help getting MIDDLE SCORE from 738 to 760+

[Anonymous]

Hey Guys!

I've been lurking these forums for awhile and must say it's SO MUCH helpful information on here, and seems to be a really great and supportive community for sure!

my situation is as follows:

Looking to close a new construction mortgage in July of 2021 (final credit check and rate lock im assuming will be in May) really want to get over 760 as it will save me thousands on mortgage insurance.

my middle mortgage score is TU at 738. EQ is 714 and EX is 768 (780 as of this morning the other scores are from last week)

the EQ score is the lowest I'm assuming because it's the only one reporting an old medical collection with a DOFD of April 2014.

Revolving Credit

using AEZO right now (1-2% utilisation) with that card holding about 100/2000 available balance. Total available revolving credit is only $8500 unfortunately. 

INSTALLMENT ACCOUNTS

-Auto loan with 2000/23000 balance remaining 

-Student loan with greater than 100% of original balance currently (44k total)

-A few paid off personal and auto loans that show as closed accounts 

-Also, TU and EQ also have 10 closed versions of my student loan in addition to the open one with a 44k balance. These do not show on EX only the one with a balance. Could they be having some negative impact? 

EXISTING BADDIES:

-medical collection I mentioned earlier worth $135. April 2014 DOFD

30day Late from Target dated Oct 2018 (they agreed to remove a few days ago but hasn't reported yet)

And two 30 day lates for Macy's which I am working on getting removed dated June and Sept 2018

Im wondering if address those late pays will that have any impact on my TU mortgage score?

OTHER POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS?

Is it better to pay off my auto loan early or keep it around until time of rate lock so that I have an instalment account with a very low balance? 

Should I consider a PFD with the medical collection eventhough it's only 6 years old and only on my bottom score and not the other two?

Are there any other suggestions on how I can scale 20 points in 6 months given my profile? 

any help is appreciated! 

warmest regards,

Wilt

[Anonymous]

Sorry but I do not have any advice but I am in a similar situation so I'm curious as to what advice you will get. Our scores are also similar.

My middle score is 743 (way up from a low of 640 last month after bringing my ultilization down to 1% from ~60%). I also have a 30 day late from Target (September 2018). I sent a GL a couple of weeks ago but I haven't heard anything back yet. I also have a personal loan I am considering paying off early due to the high interest rate but I am worried that it will temporarily hurt my score because I have a thin-ish and new-ish file.

I also have a couple 30 day lates from Merrick Bank (from 2016 and 2017) but I assume these lates are old enough be a non-factor but maybe I'm wrong. I tried GL and they failed. Closing the account probably didn't help my case.

[Anonymous]

Hey there @Anonymous ! Wow our situations are so similar.

with target, I would give this a try (if you're willing of course):

Try this back door number for their credit accounts 866-474-4680.

I called the main line and was shut down EMPHATICALLY when I asked for a goodwill. Told me they don't do them AT ALL. So called the above number the next day, i told them that I moved around the same time as my 30d late and was not receiving my statements. The rep not only said they would remove the late but issued me a reimbursement on my late payment fee from 2 years ago lol. They didn't ask for any verifing documents

they may initially say the late payment is too old and there's nothing they can do but the rep I got found a way to go in and delete it. You may want to have a second address of a family member or something on hand in case they ask for your new address. I can't remember if they did or not.

I say give it a try, I haven't seen how much it will impact my mortgage scores yet however.

we're both so close to 760! Let's make it happen! 

[Anonymous]

The Target Good Will got me to 747!

13 points to go 

[Anonymous]

Got the last 2 baddies off my report.

Top mortgage score (Experian) reads 806 now and just got my 1B report for Transunion - FICO®Score 4 Mortgage  is 769!!

not sure what equifax is (probably lower because it's the lone one reporting that old medical collection) not that it matters since the middle score has crossed the threshold! Can't wait to close now, I'm considering doing single pay for my mortgage insurance and just getting it out the way.