I don't know anything specifically about student loans or medical collections, or about your specific creditors.
Some general comments based on what I have experienced over the past few months.
- A paid-off charge-off or collection is a lot better than an unpaid one; however, you also lose leverage to request Pay For Delete after you pay. Removing it completely from your report is a lot better than leaving it on, even paid.
- The ways to remove items are, in no particular order, 1) wait for it to age off, 2) talk to them and get them to agree to PFD, 3) pay it and then attempt to get it removed via goodwill letters, 4) successfully dispute it. Choose your favorite method or methods and pursue them aggressively.
- You didn't say if your Cap 1 card is secured or not. If so, be aware that Cap 1 secured cards will never unsecure. The best widely available secured card is Discover. Others I'd consider are TD Bank if you live in an area with branches, local credit unions, and Citi. If you shop much at Amazon, I'd also look into the Amazon Store Card. Conventional wisdom is that three revolvers give you a bonus when building/rebuilding.
- I'd also consider Self Lender. It shows up as a secured installment loan, similar to a car payment.
I think a mortgage late next year is most likely feasible but a GOOD mortgage by then may be optimistic.
CK's scoring is accurate when taken for what it is, it's just a different score than most lenders use. So, it is inaccurate if used as a proxy for FICO scores. Consider Experian or this site for FICO scores. CK is good for seeing when changes reach your accounts.
Congratulations on starting (the hardest part) and good luck!
Capital one will not PFD and since your looking into getting a home settling may not look good to your lender but I don’t know for sure because it is dependent on the lender.
Starting Score: 494 503 521
Discover considers you for unsecured after the 7th statement. The reason I say they're the best widely available secured card is that they give 1% cash back on all purchases, and match it dollar for dollar after 12 months, meaning it's ultimately 2% cash back. Also, you can add to your initial deposit (and therefore, credit limit) by calling after your first statement cuts. They have a good site and app.
Citi says they will unsecure you after 18 months, but anecdotally, it can be as early as 11 months or as late as 2.5 years. You cannot increase your deposit/credit limit after initial setup. They have a good site and app.
Amazon Store Card will consider you for unsecured, and if you don't qualify, will consider you for secured. The secured card can graduate to unsecured. If you have Amazon Prime, either card gives you 5% cash back on all Amazon purchases.
TD Bank's unsecured card is a 3-2-1 rewards card that can graduate after 7 statements to the unsecured version of their 3-2-1 card. But, to open it, you need to visit a branch and create a savings account as collateral.
My opinion: I'd go ahead and open all of your starter stuff now, so it ages together. I am assuming you aren't planning to apply for anything that's difficult to get in the next two or three months. I should note that opinions vary, and many will suggest spacing out applications to avoid triggering "credit-seeking behavior". It's hard to say what's the right choice because it depends a lot on each person's goals, but I'd rather get the pain out of the way now and let stuff age going into next year.
Good luck!
