How to improve, trying to buy a home

[Carbusys]

How in the world will you be able to buy a home in seven months with so many derogs on your credit report? I do not see it happening. I do not have any derogs at all on my credit reports, yet I cannot buy a home right now because my nine credit cards are at 79% use. It should be 30% or less. For you, you have to pay off all of your past due and collections accounts or get them removed from your credit reports. Even if you pay your past due and collections accounts, they can stay on your credit reports for up to seven years.

I suggest you talk to a bankruptcy attorney. A bankruptcy will stay on your credit reports for ten years, but it will remove all of the negatives on your report now. And, you could probably buy a home in two years, providing your credit otherwise stays perfect. Talking to a credit counseling service may help as well.

Good luck. 

[diveforfun97]

I strongly disagree with your comment.  Yes, realistically he would not be able to buy a home right now, however as many in these forums can attest to, with the hard work and determination......anything is possible.  They stated that their income can support their endeavors, so with a smart budget and repayment plan they would be able to pick away at the past due debts.  While picking away at the debts, they can start the other actions such as DV, and PFD's.  If they are persistent with the PFD's and take care of their current obligations from today on a home might be a reality.  Lastly, if they can maintain their currents, and pick away at the baddies for a year then there are options such as FHA where past credit can be explain.  In closing....to the orignal poster....if you want the house bad enough and are willing to put in the work......you can do it! Good Luck!

[Carbusys]

I strongly agree with your comments. Surely, he will be able to buy a house in about two years or so. But, did you see his collections and past due accounts? Thousands of dollars. I do not think he will be able to pay these off in seven months. He said he had the money to pay his current bills, but what about his past dues and collections. Indeed, his past due and collections are so great, it may take two-three years to pay them off without a bankruptcy. But, like you said, with hard work and dedication, he should be able to accomplish his goal.

[llecs]

Ditto to diveforfun, filing for a BK would further harm your credit, OP, and eliminate any chance for a home for years to come. When I started repair here, I had approx. a dozen CAs reporting, COs, judgments, a repo, no open or current accounts, except for a positive car loan, and FICO scores in the low to mid-500s. I eliminated all but one baddie within 18 months by following the advice on these forums. Most of my baddies went away with just DV letters and even PFD letters. I paid very little on all that was owed ($10k+) and certainly was willing to do so via 100% offers on my PFDs. I found that much of it went away because the OCs/CAs didn't want to fight it. I did have a few stubborn baddies but persistence did away with them (except the one...stupid Americredit).

OP, if you opened a CC, and let it report for 6 months, you'll then see a FICO score. I'm a proponent of repair then rebuild, but if you have no open credit, then IMO, start with a secured card. The CL doesn't matter per FICO scoring so as long as you keep your reported balance in check. I started with a secured Orchard Bank CC. Any lender who uses FICO won't see a score because of the conditions above. Once that new card reports for 6 months, then a score would appear. But I wouldn't worry about the score now anyway. If you fix the baddies then I bet by mortgage time, your lender can guesstimate based on their software/resources. I know of some who got approved for mortgages and didn't have a score because they didn't believe in owning credit cards, getting loans (other than a home), etc.

I will agree with carbuysys on the point of counselling. OP, you'll need to figure out what you did wrong in the past and take steps to make sure that never happens again. Last thing you want is a foreclosure reporting too. For me, I was a pack rat and everytime I got a bill I threw it into a box and never paid it. That got me in trouble. I had to sit down and go through every single bill from the prev. 10+ years to ascertain why I never paid it and what did I need to do to prevent that. For me it was record keeping. My attitude was that they'd send another bill next month so why pay it now. That got me in trouble.

OP, I bet you can hit 620 by years' end IF you work very agressively to fix your credit (by sending DVs, PFDs, GWs...and please, don't dispute anything. Keep an eye on SOL too).

[Anonymous]

Thank you to all the postivie replies. I was very discouraged after reading a few comments that I would never be able to repair my credit. I have enough income to buy my CURRENT bills and PAST bills. I am fine with waiting to buy a home. I know that I need my credit repaired. I am 27 years old, and made some poor choices early on. Along with poor choices I had little to no income coming in. I have since grown-up, moved, and have had an excellent job for the past 3 years. This job allows me a ton of room to move-up, and salary increases. I have already recieved both with more to come.

One of the poor choices was not following through with a lawsuit against my employer. Summer of 2007 I lived in MI where I worked for a small construction company as a laborer. My employer offered no insurance. I was roofing, and fell off the roof. My ankle was shattered. I had to have immediate surgery, and a hospital stay. Plates and screws were used to piece my ankle together. My employer denied the workman's comp. I tried to claim leaving me with the hospital bills. Why I didn't sue who knows, what was wrong with me (I mean duh). I never recieved pay for when I was laid up at home, never had my rent paid, etc.

I am now looking into what, if anything, can be done about my medical bills. I live in NC now. It may be too late. I plan on consulting a  lawyer. If it wasn't for me not taking action to have my medical bills paid my credit would be in a much better state now. $10,941 of my debt is from that accident. I could kick myself for not taking the proper steps!

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thank you to all the postivie replies. I was very discouraged after reading a few comments that I would never be able to repair my credit. I have enough income to buy my CURRENT bills and PAST bills. I am fine with waiting to buy a home. I know that I need my credit repaired. I am 27 years old, and made some poor choices early on. Along with poor choices I had little to no income coming in. I have since grown-up, moved, and have had an excellent job for the past 3 years. This job allows me a ton of room to move-up, and salary increases. I have already recieved both with more to come.

One of the poor choices was not following through with a lawsuit against my employer. Summer of 2007 I lived in MI where I worked for a small construction company as a laborer. My employer offered no insurance. I was roofing, and fell off the roof. My ankle was shattered. I had to have immediate surgery, and a hospital stay. Plates and screws were used to piece my ankle together. My employer denied the workman's comp. I tried to claim leaving me with the hospital bills. Why I didn't sue who knows, what was wrong with me (I mean duh). I never recieved pay for when I was laid up at home, never had my rent paid, etc.

I am now looking into what, if anything, can be done about my medical bills. I live in NC now. It may be too late. I plan on consulting a  lawyer. If it wasn't for me not taking action to have my medical bills paid my credit would be in a much better state now. $10,941 of my debt is from that accident. I could kick myself for not taking the proper steps!

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Even if he didn't offer insurance it is law that he pay L & I in case you did get hurt.

You may look into the SOL for filing suit in a case like that.

As for now, write to the hospital  and explain what happened.  See if they offer an type of financial aid.  It may be too late but never hurts to try.

[piersonj1]

I agree that some of the comments left can be discouraging.  Just for a little encouragement, I have been doing the same thing and I am also 27 with past bad decisions reflecting in my credit history.  With that said, within the last 6 months or so I have paid off 9 derogs, had 5 of those removed from my CR and opened two credit cards that I have been maintaining and have managed to increase my score enough to have a qualifying score for a mortgage.  I would like to purchase a house so I am continuing to improve my credit and will make that leap when I have no more derogs reflecting on my CR (hopefully this time next year) so not only will I have a nice home but also a descent interest rate.  I owe my success to these forums that have given me the knowledge to do this.  Good luck, you CAN do it and don't let the negative comments get you down!

[KeepSwimming]

Don't give up. It can get really discouraging, and it's really tough and embarrassing to face this stuff head on, but even just getting one thing wiped off the report will give you the "shot in the arm" you need to keep going. You may never get it all fixed, but I'm sure that you'll get some PFDs accepted, and it will give you the fuel to keep going after the stubborn stuff!