"I'll be cleaning out the garage months in advance of moving to clear clutter. "
The best way to do that kind of clean up/out is to rent a dumpster. NOTHING encourages you to throw stuff out more than having a dumpster with extra space. The cost is usually pretty reasonable too. Especially for getting rid of furniture you haven't wanted or needed in a while but not suitable for donation.
"When you were in the process of paying down debt did you keep the MyFICO membership to check scores, and reports monthly? Right now my membership is quarterly reports and monthly scores."
My situation was a bit backwards as I had not been planning to buy a house but it suddenly all fell into place and I have no regrets. I was reasonably certain I had at least a 650 mortgage score (I was right it was 660) but didn't know for sure when we apped for the approval. So no, I was not using a MyFICO membership. I could track everything through a free site like CK and save the money. When you have no debt or collections there really isn't much to track. If I am planning a major purchase like a car I will pay for a 3B report from MF so that I have a clear idea of where I stand.
MyFICO won't like my suggestion but their memberships are pricey. Right now if I were you I would devote all my spare money to paying down that revolving debt because the reality is if you manage your debt your scores reflect that. Do the math: if you are paying $30/month that is $90/quarter. A one time 3B report is $60. I would stop paying for a membership and devote the money to paying down the debt since the goal is a mortgage. CK gives you enough information to monitor how you are improving even if the score is fake and not reliable. When the FAKO gets near 650 you can spend $60 for a 3B report and see where those real mortgage scores are if you are itching for solid information. Just my thoughts for what it is worth.
@tayloreat713 wrote:I'm preparing my scores for a mortgage in the quickest way possible. As of 1/15/24 my mortgage scores were:
EQ 537
TU 518
EX 593
A few factors tanking my scores are high utilization on my CC's, a C/O from 2018 that reports monthly to EX and EQ, 1 collection recently purchased by living funding that I settled and pay monthly. My question is should I first focus on reducing my CC utilization OR paying my CO and collection? I'd like to get my mortgage scores to 640 before applying. Any and all guidance would be helpful!
I was at 591, 570, and 602 mortgage scores at the end of August last year.
I paid down my cards 50% of balances and paid off my 1 collection of 4 years. I also requested CLI's on all of my cards. I received them and opened up 1 new card.
I had my loan officer repull and now I'm at 638, 634, and 613. This was just in 4 months.
For me it was reducing the high utilization.
Best wishes on your journey!
Starting Score: 633