Trying to get a mortgage scores up

[Anonymous]

I’m trying to see my chances on getting my mortgage scores up.
FICO mortgage scores are:
Equifax: 604 TransUnion: 632 Experian: 605
Middle score: 605 as of 02/2019

I just finished paying a car loan off about 3 months ago and it took a toll on my credit scores. I dropped about 20 points when it showed a closed. Right now my DTI is not that good and not that bad. A loan officer advised me that I am right there to the boarder of not being approved/to being approved. I need advised on what to do right now. I would love to buy a house within 3-6 months and trying to see if that is a possibility.

Last year I made $68k with overtime included. No overtime I make almost $59k
I receive a court order child support payment of $155 weekly that has been consistent.
I have 7 credit cards. No student loans. No installment loans. No collections and 1 charge off account that was paid but it doesn’t show it as paid on my report but it does reflect a $0 balance.

My cards are as follows:
Capital one
$3274/$3600 opened 10/17
30/60 days late on 12/17-1/18
Capital Bank
$32/$250 (just paid this off to zero but not reporting as of yet) opened 02/14
30 days late 3 times (this is my fault as I had a $3 monthly fee that I neglected to put on auto pay and I forgot about it since I don’t use the card) recent late is 8/18
Comenity/Victoria Secret opened 5/18
Never late
$0/$250
Credit one opened 7/17
$267/$550 (paid off but does not reflect on report)
30 days late 10/17
Discover
$2175/$2900 (paid some of the balance -current balance is now $1200 but it does not reflect on report yet) opened 4/17
Never late
Merrick Bank opened 5/16
$3/$1600 (paid the balance does not reflect)
Never late
Mercury (use to be Barclay Rewards)
$855/$1500 (balance is now $732 paid some of it not reflected on report)
Opened 5/16 30 days late 12/17
Bridge crest - this was my installment account which was paid November 2018
Never late - shows as closed
Santander - charge off account $0 balance - sold to another lender. - this account I settle for less than the amount owed but I have don’t letters after letters to Santander to have them reflect that I paid the balance but they refused due to it not being paid directly to them. My first major delinquency was 2012.

I have an American Express that I just opened in December of 2018 that does not show on my report and I’m afraid that will just cut me off completely. Ive been told they don’t report until 2-3 billing cycles. My statement cuts today 02/5 I have a $0 balance on it with a limit of $500

I know I may have to lower my high cards to qualify for a better rate

What is anyone’s suggestion?

[Newbie2018]

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@Anonymous wrote:
I’m trying to see my chances on getting my mortgage scores up.
FICO mortgage scores are:
Equifax: 604 TransUnion: 632 Experian: 605
Middle score: 605 as of 02/2019

I just finished paying a car loan off about 3 months ago and it took a toll on my credit scores. I dropped about 20 points when it showed a closed. Right now my DTI is not that good and not that bad. A loan officer advised me that I am right there to the boarder of not being approved/to being approved. I need advised on what to do right now. I would love to buy a house within 3-6 months and trying to see if that is a possibility.

Last year I made $68k with overtime included. No overtime I make almost $59k
I receive a court order child support payment of $155 weekly that has been consistent.
I have 7 credit cards. No student loans. No installment loans. No collections and 1 charge off account that was paid but it doesn’t show it as paid on my report but it does reflect a $0 balance.

My cards are as follows:
Capital one
$3274/$3600 opened 10/17
30/60 days late on 12/17-1/18
Capital Bank
$32/$250 (just paid this off to zero but not reporting as of yet) opened 02/14
30 days late 3 times (this is my fault as I had a $3 monthly fee that I neglected to put on auto pay and I forgot about it since I don’t use the card) recent late is 8/18
Comenity/Victoria Secret opened 5/18
Never late
$0/$250
Credit one opened 7/17
$267/$550 (paid off but does not reflect on report)
30 days late 10/17
Discover
$2175/$2900 (paid some of the balance -current balance is now $1200 but it does not reflect on report yet) opened 4/17
Never late
Merrick Bank opened 5/16
$3/$1600 (paid the balance does not reflect)
Never late
Mercury (use to be Barclay Rewards)
$855/$1500 (balance is now $732 paid some of it not reflected on report)
Opened 5/16 30 days late 12/17
Bridge crest - this was my installment account which was paid November 2018
Never late - shows as closed
Santander - charge off account $0 balance - sold to another lender. - this account I settle for less than the amount owed but I have don’t letters after letters to Santander to have them reflect that I paid the balance but they refused due to it not being paid directly to them. My first major delinquency was 2012.

I have an American Express that I just opened in December of 2018 that does not show on my report and I’m afraid that will just cut me off completely. Ive been told they don’t report until 2-3 billing cycles. My statement cuts today 02/5 I have a $0 balance on it with a limit of $500

I know I may have to lower my high cards to qualify for a better rate

What is anyone’s suggestion?

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The first thing i noticed was you said NO INSTALLMENTS. To maximize your scores you would at least one open installment loan love. Also applying for credit so close to wanting a mortage seems to be frowned upon in here. Also, you could try to get goodwill letters together and sent to the lenders. The balances on all cards except one should report $0. With just one reporting below 8.9% (AEZO). Any collections wold need to be settled and or paid in full for deletion.

[Anonymous]

1. Tried goodwill letters none worked. Countless of them to different addresses and people. Nothing.
2. I have zero collections so paying them for a deletion makes no sense since I have none. I have a repo from 2012 that is due to fall off this year that I already settled and paid about 2 years ago. It shows on my report as zero balance. So what collections would I pay?
3. I just paid an installment loan off. I am not trying to get another installment loan. That would lower my DTI and my ability to get a nice house. I have a paid off car why would I get into a new one? Or any other installment loan? Especially since I can’t apply for new credit if I am trying to secure a loan for a mortgage. I’m just trying to figure out are you telling me to get new credit as far as an installment loan but then turn around and say new credit is frowned upon? I don’t get what you are telling me.

[Newbie2018]

What I'm saying is. Having an open installment would be something that would help bring your scores up. Sorry for the input GOOD LUCK!!

[Anonymous]

Kudos on paying off your car loan. What I'm about to say here is crucial and it comes from current experience. There are two important criteria you should focus on when applying for a mortgage: keep revolving credit between 1-5% and try to keep DTI (Debt-to-Income)low. Generally, your approval will be hinged on DTI..and and time on the job. Be prepared to turn over bank statements and retirement account showing savings. Obviously what you will be able to afford will be determined by lender. From my experience [RECENT] mortgage scores are more impacted by revolving credit. Keep those balances low, have no DISPUTES on your report, and avoid making large purchases before applying.

Best of luck

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your input. I know for a fact I need to pay my cards down to try to get the best score I can. I have made a couple of payments that haven’t reflected on my report yet. Just waiting it out to see. By the end of this month I will be paying more into my credit cards. I was trying to figure out why someone would tell me to get another installment loan to jump my score when I have had experience with other people (personally) whom have been in the process of buying a house and was told they had to pay their installment loans off to get their DTI to where they needed to be. I definitely don’t need another installment loan especially when I am trying to get a house. I only mentioned my American Express because it’s not on my report as of yet and I opened it in December before thinking about trying to obtain a loan. There’s nothing I can do about the lates because I have tirelessly tried and nothing. There’s no disputes from what I see on my report. I did the simulator and it showed if I paid some of my balances it will make my score go up but it’s not my mortgage score that shows going up.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the input but I was trying to figure out what you were saying about getting an installment loan when I just paid one off and plus I have had some people tell me that they were told by loan officers to pay off their card which are installment loans to get a better DTI.

[Anonymous]

Credit mix is part of your score, getting an installment loan will bump your score. You could get a $500 loan. Turn around and pay it to almost complete. Keep the remainder and pay it monthly. It won’t hurt your DTI. There’s a thread here about it.

But. I’ve always heard don’t take out new credit before a mortgage as well. Maybe the experts here will shed some light on the effect when it comes to getting a mortgage.

[Anonymous]

Yeah that’s what I don’t get. I’m trying to get a mortgage and I know an installment loan would be beneficial for my score but that would require me to take out new credit to which I don’t want nor need. I was told by the loan officer not to take out any new credit and not to touch my credit. To pay my balances to see if my score would go up. Sooooo frustrating 😂🤣😂

[syeb]

I think we can settle the installment loan issue. If you would have had one already it would have been better. But the negative impact of applynig for / opening a new credit line right now would far outweight the positive impact of having an installment loan on your report.

So if you are applying for a mortgage in the near future it would hurt you to open a new installment loan now. If you can wait a year before the mortgage application, getting an installment loan now would help.

I hope this helps.