Hello! I recently found this forum and have been reading lots and lots of your experiences. I finally got up the nerve for making my own post 
My husband and I are building (him) and rebuilding (me) our credit after my (single) BK13 which discharged in April 2023, and I have some questions you all may be able to help with, or at least point me in the right direction.
First, the background:
Filed BK13 June 2019. I burned one CC -- Citi Costco, the rest was property-related. At the time I was working 2 part-time jobs and my husband was selling stuff on ebay. Not exactly high earners. I had a "good" BK -- the BK was a 36 mo plan; I got a full-time position and a few promotions so was able to save up some money (as well as getting health insurance for the first time in 20 years). Don't get me wrong -- it was really hard in the years and especially the months leading up to the BK, and for the first two years of it.
Aside: We found YNAB right about then and it really changed how we budget, as in: we had a budget. Never really did before, just looked at how much cash/credit we had available at the moment which is the Wrong Thing To Do.
Then in the middle of Year 2, our HELOC, which was in "interest only" phase converted to "repayment" and it was a balloon of ~30k. I knew I wouldn't be able to save that much in the 18 months or so, so we went through the bank's loss mitigation to get a fixed repayment plan -- 5 years at just under 3% (SO GLAD IT WAS IN 2020/21).
The BK extended until the additional attorneys fees for dealing with the HELOC were paid. We're caught up on property taxes, we continued to pay HELOC and mortgage, and sorry Citi you're SOL.
Current status:
I am trying to develop a plan to buy a car in about 2 years. Our current car (owned) is about 12 years old with <80k miles on it. We're working to have at least 5k saved for a downpayment, and expect nothing on a trade in.
Our credit reports are actually not all that bad, though quite thin. My recent FICO8 score from myFico (EQ) is 693, his is 773.
The CRAs each report slightly different versions of accounts and status, and of course I have the BKR but in general we have:
- mortgage expected to be finished Sept 2027 (this may be earlier, but only by a few months). Adjustable rate that has mostly worked in our favor over the years. This is our oldest account, opened in 1997. Sometimes the previous servicer is there, and sometimes not.
- HELOC expected to be finished May 2026. It has ~16k balance of 30k original. Even though it was modified to a standard loan, it is reporting in the "revolving" portion of the CRA reports. Fixed rate, <3%
- American Express opened 2010 closed in good standing in 2016 when Citi took over Costco cards.
I have a Cap One QS with a 3k SL that I got a few weeks after DC that is just starting to report. I learned my lesson (plus 30% interest!) so this is PIF. They did not offer me the SUB and I don't mind.
He has a Cap One Savor One with a 1k SL. He was offered the 200/1000 SUB, so we're working on meeting that goal. Also PIF.
I recently opened a NFCU account (thanks, Dad!) and made my husband a joint owner.
Questions:
- Citi does not appear on any of our reports. They may have been in the process of transferring to a CA when the BKR filed. How long must I hold my breath hoping they don't show up?
- We don't have any (reported) installment accounts at the moment. I am expecting to use a NFCU SSL for this. How far in advance of a planned car loan should I start this?
- If we are joint owners of the NFCU account, does that mean we are jointly responsible for the SSL or is that individual?
- Should we try to get each 1 or 2 more CCs to pad out our files?
Thank you in advance for any advice/experiences you care to share. I've learned a lot already just by being here!
What do you have at the moment:
Credit card/Credit Limit/Balance
DH:
Credit card/Credit Limit/Balance
Joint savings will be joint SSL.
Me:
Cap 1 QS, CL 3000, about 1 month old. Last reported $80.
DH:
Cap 1 Savor One, about 1 month old, CL 1000. Last reported $60
Shared:
Heloc: ~16k owed, original CL 30k
SSL: thanks, that's what I thought.
1. If it wasn't caught in time and iib, it could pop up any time. If it does, and it wasn't iib, move quick to settle in exchange for not reporting because you should get it in writing first.
2. As long as it's paid below 8.9% before the auto loan you should be fine anytime. Some people will get it early to use the boost as long as they can. The inquiry also needs to be at least a year old to not affect your score anymore.
3. Anything opened as joint is shared.
4. You should have a minimum of 3 cards to optimize score. 4 or 5 if you plan to carry a balance on more than 1 card. Do not carry a balance on more than 50% of your cards.
Thanks
1. It was IIB, no worries there. Just curious mainly.
2. Thanks, I have a plan for funding that account that will take a few months. Good to know I don't need to speed it up.
3. Got it
4. I thought 3 cards would be about right. I think DH will be able to get them easier once he has some payment history with Cap 1, but I believe I should be ok too. Just need to be patient I guess!
@orthoclase wrote:Thanks
1. It was IIB, no worries there. Just curious mainly.
2. Thanks, I have a plan for funding that account that will take a few months. Good to know I don't need to speed it up.
3. Got it
4. I thought 3 cards would be about right. I think DH will be able to get them easier once he has some payment history with Cap 1, but I believe I should be ok too. Just need to be patient I guess!
Good luck. Time heals all wounds. You'll get there.