Hey man,
You're correct in hearing that paying those debts right now will not help out your credit, unfortunately. There are many reasons behind why but look up the term "Statue of Limitations" for your state and read up on it. And as someone who is trying to get a new home in the next 2 years you need to take care of a few things:
1. Apply and get approved for at least TWO more revolving credit accounts
2. Do anything and everything possible to get those derogatory marks off your credit report
3. Research the qualifications needed for an FHA loan and ensure you will be able to meet those requirements both financially and in terms of credit profile strength
If you do that then you'll have a good chance of achieving that house. And also, don't pay the debt, if you have further questions just message me. 
@Anonymous wrote:Trying to get my score good enought to get approved for a mortgage for a 1st home condo within the next year or 2 max.
Current score is 618 with TU....
I have an active cap 1 credit card with 13% credit available... I'm currently making 2 payments monthy on it and have been.TA creidt report shows 8 charge offs ($455, $871, $0, $591, $0, $366, $0, $3726)
I havent paid any of the charge offs so not sure why some at $0... i think transferred to other creditors. $0 balance means they sold it to a collection agency. They no longer own it.
I disputed the one for $3726 not knowing who it was from. Disputed denied. Results showed it was from a payday loan but I'm certain it was a lot less than that amount. many fees and late charges can be added to pay day loan loan shark if you dont pay.
Collections occured during a time I was laid off.
Is it better to just pay off credit card, or both pay credit card and charge off? Everything.
I've heard even if you pay charge-off, it wont help score. Yes and no.
Working with 1 of the charge-offs ($455) due to being contacted by lawyer. Payment plan set up. Will that help?
Welcome @Anonymous
The main goal is pay them all off or settle. Your being killed by util which is thru the roof. 1 charge off is like having a 100% max out credit card. In this case you have many. Once they are all paid. They no longer are included in your aggregate util or overall credit card use percentage. Even your open Cap1 card is at max level over 89%. Call each one once you have the $ and see what they will take as a settlement offer. Settled or paid in full they have to place a $0 balance on the CO. If you can PIF (pay in full) it will look better to future creditors that you paid your debts. You will see score changes. Not the greatest. Plus the lates that led to the charge offs will have to age also. Yes the CO status will remain. GW letters for CO's with lates is next to impossible. So really theres no strategy to it. It all needs to be dealt with. Sorry about the layoff. But getting more credit for now. Thats is if you could. Would be like putting a 1" bandaid on a 3" laceration. Gotta stop the bleeding first. Then it will heal. Good Luck.
@Anonymous wrote:Hey man,
You're correct in hearing that paying those debts right now will not help out your credit, unfortunately. Wrong. Getting charge offs to zero and paying down the open card will help scores. There are many reasons behind why but look up the term "Statue of Limitations" for your state and read up on it. The closer to fall off date leads to last ditch efforts to collect the legal way. And as someone who is trying to get a new home in the next 2 years you need to take care of a few things:
1. Apply and get approved for at least TWO more revolving credit accounts More credit isnt going to fix whats broken.
2. Do anything and everything possible to get those derogatory marks off your credit report GW isnt going to work on charge offs and lates that led up to it. Disputing accurate info that will come back verified will cause a newer update and take more hits.
3. Research the qualifications needed for an FHA loan and ensure you will be able to meet those requirements both financially and in terms of credit profile strength Any mortgage UW wont approve anything until all past debts are paid in full.
If you do that then you'll have a good chance of achieving that house. And also, don't pay the debt, if you have further questions just message me.
Dont pay the debt? Seriously? This is not the greatest advice on how to tackle the past. You fix whats broken first. Once they are all taken care off. Then if approved for future credit it could lead to higher SL's of credit and not toy limit secured cards. Might want to read some more on rebuilding. All advice is welcome here. But as you listed it. Its not the way to clear the past for a better future.