How to improve, trying to buy a home

[Anonymous]

I am new to trying to improve your credit score, and don't know too much about the process. I have been reading articles online, however it is really confusing.

I have been a renter for about 6 years. I want to purchase a home through the USDA Rural loans. However, I was told by a lender who does this type of loan that my credit score needed to be at least 600 for USDA and 620 for FHA. I prefer the USDA loan. Looking online it says there is no official UDSA minimum credit score, but they prefer 620. I will be calling my local USDA loan office to speak with them.

I would like to improve my credit score as soon as possible. My lease on my rental  is up in 7 months, and I would like to have it improved in that time or soon after.

My credit score is 585. Looking at my report I have all closed accounts with a total of $11,819 in debt (mostly medical bills). There is 8 accounts.  I have a past Cap. One credit card bill that I opened in 2005. However, it is showing N/A for amounts owed. All that shows in creditor contact information is bymailonly, and the Cap One disputes mail address.

It is my understanding that paying off your revolving account will help?

I have three other small amounts that are under $300 a piece with the largest one at $288, and the smallest at $55. I am  not sure what most of these are for. I thought about paying all of these small amounts off one at a time. Will this actually  hurt my credit score?

The large bills are from when I shattered my ankle without insurance. They are $8,617, $1,555, $630, and $555.

The closed accounts are all listed as collections as I haven't made any payments so no late payments. I haven't really cared about my credit until now, and I am ready to start improving it.

I was reading online that if you pay off closed accounts it can hurt your score? So how in the world are you supposed to improve it?

Advice, tips, etc. appreciated. Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Here is my report via Experian. Has anyone used Quizzle? That is where I recieved my credit score from not sure of where else to recieve my credit score from. All I saw was places where you had to pay $8.  What is recommended on this site for finding your FICO, etc.   Also, I am not sure how to figure out my credit utilization. I am willing to work hard at fixing my credit as I must get into a house!

AFNI

Address:
PO BOX 3097
BLOOMINGTON, IL 61702
(800) 767-2364

Original Creditor:
CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS
Status:
Collection account. $55 past due as of Sep 2007.

Date Opened: 8/2007

Date of Status: 9/2007

 Reported Since: 9/2007

Last Reported Date: 9/2007

Type: Installment

Terms:1 months

Monthly Payment:$0

Responsiblity: Individual 

Credit Limit: $55

High Balance:N/A

Recent Balance: $55 

Recent Payment: $0

ALLGATE FINANCIAL

Address:
707 SKOKIE BLVD STE 375
NORTHBROOK, IL 60062
(866) 910-3711

Original Creditor:
AT T SBC MIDWEST CONSUMER 
Status:
Collection account.

Date Opened: 4/2007

Date of Status: 4/2007

Reported SInce : 4/2007

Last Reported Data : 4/2007

Type: Installment

Terms: 1 month

Monthly Payment : $0

Responsibility: Individual

Credit Limit: $535

High Balance:N/A

Recent balance:$535

Recent payment:$0

 Cadillac Accnts Rec Mgmt 

Address:
PO BOX 358
CADILLAC, MI 49601
No phone number available

Original Creditor:
BIG RAPIDS ORTHOPAEDICS PC
Status:
Collection account. $1,555 past due as of Sep 2009.

Date Opened: 6/2008

Date of Status: 8/2008

Reported SInce : 8/2008

Last Reported Data : 9/2009

Type: Installment

Terms: 1 month

Monthly Payment : $0

Responsibility: Individual

Credit Limit: $1155

High Balance:N/A

Recent balance:$1155

Recent payment:$0

 Capital One

Address:
PO BOX 30281
SALT LAKE CITY, UT 84130
(800) 955-7070
Status:
Transferred,closed. $498 written off.

Date Opened: 7/2005

Date of Status: 6/2008

Reported SInce : 7/2005

Last Reported Data : 6/2008

Type: Revolving

Terms: 1 month

Monthly Payment : $0

Responsibility: Individual

Credit Limit: $200

High Balance:$762

Recent balance:N/A

Recent payment:N/A

 Creditor's Statement:
Purchased by another lender.
Account History:
Charge Off as of May 2008, Apr 2008, Mar 2008, Feb 2008, Jan 2008, Nov 2007, Oct 2007, Sep 2007, Aug 2007, Jul 2007, May 2007, Apr 2007, Mar 2007, Feb 2007, Jan 2007, Dec 2006, Nov 2006, Oct 2006, Sep 2006, Aug 2006, Jul 2006, Jun 2006, May 2006
180 days past due as of May 2006
150 days past due as of Apr 2006
120 days past due as of Mar 2006
90 days past due as of Feb 2006
60 days past due as of Jan 2006
30 days past due as of Dec 2005

 Central Prof Services

Address:
PO BOX 365
CADILLAC, MI 49601
(231) 775-3458

Original Creditor:
CENTRAL MICHIGAN EMR PHYSICIA
Status:
Collection account. $630 past due as of Jun 2008.

Date Opened: 3/2008

Date of Status: 6/2008

Reported SInce : 6/2008

Last Reported Data : 6/2008

Type: Collection

Terms: 1 month

Monthly Payment : $0

Responsibility: Individual

Credit Limit: $630

High Balance:N/A

Recent balance:$630

Recent payment:$0

CREDIT SERVICES INC

Account History:
Collection as of Jun 2008

Address:
304 QUINCY ST
HANCOCK, MI 49930
(906) 482-4100

Original Creditor:
MECOSTA COUNTY RADIOLOGY LLC
Status:
Collection account. $139 past due as of Oct 2008.

Date Opened: 9/2008

Date of Status: 10/2008

Reported SInce : 10/2008

Last Reported Data : 10/2008

Type:Collection

Terms: 1 month

Monthly Payment : $0

Responsibility: Individual

Credit Limit: $139

High Balance:N/A

Recent balance:$139

Recent payment:$0

MERCHANTS & MEDICAL CREDIT

Account History:
Collection as of Oct 2008

Address:
6324 TAYLOR DR
FLINT, MI 48507
(810) 244-4258

Original Creditor:
MECOSTA COUNTY MEDICAL CENTER
Status:
Collection account. $8,617 past due as of Jul 2008.

Date Opened: 3/2008

Date of Status:6/2008

Reported SInce : 5/2008

Last Reported Data : 7/2008

Type: Collection

Terms: 1 month

Monthly Payment : $0

Responsibility: Individual

Credit Limit: $8617

High Balance:N/A

Recent balance:$8617

Recent payment:$0

Account History:
Collection as of Jul 2008, May 2008

MIDWESTERN AUDIT SERVICE

Address:
5555 GULL RD STE 105
KALAMAZOO, MI 49048
(269) 388-2121

Original Creditor:
CONSUMERS ENERGY
Status:
Collection account. $288 past due as of Aug 2006.

Date Opened: 2/2005

Date of Status: 2/2005

Reported SInce : 2/2005

Last Reported Data : 8/2006

Type: Installment

Terms: 1 month

Monthly Payment : $0

Responsibility: Collection

Credit Limit: $288

High Balance:N/A

Recent balance:$288

Recent payment:$0

[llecs]

Welcome to the forums!

I'd suggest reading the following:

Common Abbreviations

Credit Scoring 101 - great for knowing what is in your credit score and to see how your score is impacted.

and What Steps Do I Take - great for learning the repair process.

Disclaimer: Keep an eye on your SOL. Unless your statute of limitations for your state has expired, do not send any letters, make any calls, or do anything unless you have the $$$ set aside to pay in full if you had to. You can always settle in the future if you wanted to, but many OCs/CAs are sue happy and doing anything inside of SOL can get you sued. If SOL didn't expire or if you didn't have the $$$ to PIF if you had to, then wait it out.

AFNI - send a DV. If they verify and you agree, then send a PFD.

Allgate - If SOL expired or if you have the $$$ to PIF if you had to, then send a DV. If they verify and you agree, then send a PFD.

Cadillac - I suggest following the HIPAA process. Google "HIPAA process" for more info.

CapOne - send a GW letter if you had the $$$ to PIF. CapOne shares your info with any collecting CA. My DW has a sold CapOne CO reporting $0 and after sending a round of GWs, the CA contacted us.

Central, Credit svcs, and Merchants - Follow the HIPAA process.

Midwestern - send a DV. If they verify and you agree then send a PFD.

The info from Quizzle is OK. It's not bad, but does lack some info. If you pull your CR directly from EX (via Experian.com or for free via annualcreditreport.com), you would also see more info including drop off dates. This may be helpful if you suspect your baddies are approaching 7 yrs old. Ignore the credit score sold there. It isn't a FICO score. Lenders won't use that score at all. Other than myFICO.com, you can also get your EQ FICO from Equifax.com or from your lender. Other than myFICO.com, you can also get your TU FICO from transunioncs.com (note the -cs) and from your lender. Finally, as of last year, Experian no longer allows consumers to pull their own EX FICO score, but you can get it from your lender or on your checking statement if you happen to have a checking account with a CU in PA called PSECU. Any other score from any other source are not FICO scores, but a knock-off we call FAKOs.

Per pulling scores, I recommend FICO® Standard for TU and EQ. If you want to monitor EQ on a regular basis, then try Score Watch®. SW is good if you pull your EQ FICO reports frequently as you get $5 off each time. And if you set your "Target score" to match exactly to your current EQ FICO, then you'll get alerts every time your EQ FICO score changes. In any case, google "myFICO discount codes" first.

You calculate CC utilization by listing out each balance and each corresponding CC CL. Divide the balance into the CL to get the individual utilization. TO calculate overall CC utilization, add the sums of the balances and divide that into the sum of the reported CLs. Divide the overall balance with the overall CL to get an overall utilization. FICO factors in both individual and overall. There are some caveats to this. All open CCs are factored into util. Any closed CCs factor into util IF they are reporting a balance. Other items like LOCs or HELOCs also factor into util but only up to a point. It varies by CRA but I think the magical number is $40k. Not sure about that. Signature cards factor in differently too. Finally, charge cards like Amex don't factor into EX or EQ, but does factor into the TU 98 FICO version for TU (like found on here and used by many lenders). In that case, the balance and "high limit" is considered.

TO flip back to your first post.....paying past due revolving accounts can help, but your CapOne is sold and shows $0. Paying it won't help unless you get a PFD from the CA, if reporting. Even then CApOne won't delete, but you could GW to get the lates removed.

Paying a CA will NEVER help your FICO score. It doesn't matter if you owe $0 or $10,000, the damage is equal. The only way to improve your FICO score is to get it removed (see above).

Generally, paying a CA won't hurt your score (it certainly won't help it), but in some circumstances, the CA would update the info to reflect $0 and that can change the reported dates and that could hurt your score if it hadn't updated in quite some time.

[Anonymous]

Okay I have a lot of questions, sorry

The credit report I listed was my Experian report, exactly minus account numbers. I checked in on annualcreditreport.com. The Equifax had a closed account that wasn't on any other CR.

This is it:

RealCheck Collection Svcs

Date reported: 7/2010

Date Assigned: 12/2004

Creditor Classification : Utilities

Creditor Name : Universal Utilities Inc

Account owner : individual account

original amount owned : $197

date of 1st delinquency : 10/2004

balance owned : $197

last payment : n/a

status date : 7/2010

status : d-unpaid

NC SOL is 3 years. Why if this account was from 2004 is it showing status dates of 2010? Is SOL affected by the debt being acrued in a different state than you live now? All of my debts are from MI, and I have lived in NC since 2008.

I have googled the HIPPA process several times, and read a lot of info. I am not any clearer on the subject. Do you have to pay in full? As most of all the  medical debts are too great of an amount for me to pay in full.

The Experian cr didn't list any drop-off dates?

Is the Quizzle's site credit score a FICO?

Will DV's then PFD's improve your credit score?  How likely is a CA going to comply with a PFD? I was reading that rarely after paying a CA will they delete it off your credit report.

Is the last reported date the date you figure a SOL from? For example, with Allgate the last reported date is April of 2007. Debt happened in MI, but I have been living in NC for two years. Would the SOL then be April of 2010?

If the SOL doesn't prevent the debt from being reported on your credit report. What is the purpose of the SOL?

If I cannot pay in full with my credit card for example....is it possible to call them to settle for an amount less than what is owed? My DW had a credit card bill of $900 something, and they were willing to settle for a lump sum of $400-500.

[llecs]

RealCheck - send a DV.

NC SOL - I'd suggest looking up the statute for clarification, but typically SOL starts from DOFD. In some states, SOL can restart if you make a payment or acknowledge the debt. SOL can also be tolled if you move, but your state's statutes would clarify if that applies or not. Check MI's SOL & tolling to see if that's the case.

"Status date" can change if a payment is made, letters are sent to them, a dispute is made, or sometimes the CA just updates on a regular/irregular basis. This date has nothing to do with the length or time a baddie reports or how long SOL would last. I'd ignore it.

I'm no pro on the HIPAA process, but in short, you'd pay off the OC, totally ignore the CA, and dispute with the CRAs on the basis that due to HIPAA, the CA shouldn't be reporting your personal medical info. It's more involved than that, though.

Did the EX report come directly from Experian.com or annualcreditreport.com? If not, you wouldn't see those dates.

Quizzle sells a FAKO score.

If a CA agrees to a PFD, then they'll delete after you pay. That'll certainly help. But per the PFD, you have to get a written acknowledgment from them that they'll delete before you'd even consider paying. Paying a CA without a PFD will never help your FICO score.

SOL typically goes by DOFD. In some states, SOL can restart if you pay a creditor or if you acknowledge the debt in writing or verbally.

SOL is the statute of limitations on an unpaid debt. There's SOL for CC debt, for loan debts, for parking tickets, for assualt, burglary, getting a garnishment after a judgment, and so on and so forth. If you look up your state's laws, you'll see dozens of scenarios  in which SOL applies. In short, SOL applies to the government or a creditor bringing for action against you (e.g. suing you) in court. Per debts, sending any letter, disputing anything, etc. on any unpaid debt will wake up the creditor and that increases your odds of being sued. So, if you have an unpaid debt, you'd want to wait until SOL expired or have the $$$ to PIF if you had to. If inside SOL, and an OC or CA sues you, then at least if you had the $$$ to PIF, you could pay them off and avoid a judgment on your CR. Whenever dealing with debts, you can always offer a settlement, but you need to have the $$$ in the bank to PIF before doing anything. I recently read a post where the poster offered 50% on an unpaid debt via a PFD. The creditor denied the PFD request and sued him for 100% instead. Have the $$$ handy.

Know there's a difference between SOL and CRTP. CRTP is the credit reporting time period and that is set by federal law. Generally speaking, bad accounts or lates can report for 7 yrs. So, if you have a late, it can't report for more than 7 yrs. Or if a CA reports, that can't report for more than 7 yrs FROM the DOFD. Nothing can reset CRTP and nothing can change the DOFD date.

Using Allgate as your example, it doesn't list the DOFD. You'd have to figure out when your AT&T (the OC) bill first went late and you never recovered. If you pull your EX report directly from Experian (not Quizzle), you should see a drop off date. TU also lists the same if pulled from transunion.com (or annualcreditreport). EQ doesn't list drop off dates, but does lists DOFD dates. The 4/2007 date should be ignored. Your DOFD would have happened before then. If the reports lack this info, you may need to get in touch with AT&T and ask for the last couple of bills or look on older credit reports. Once you find the DOFD,  then add 7 yrs to get your drop off date. To figure SOL, add the number of years your state considers SOL on written debts to get that end-date. BTW< if this is a cell phone, some in here believe that there is a SOL of two years on cell phone debts based on the Telecommunications Act. I disagree and wanted to throw this opposing viewpoint.

If you don't have the $$$ to PIF if you had to, I wouldn't call unless SOL had expired. Calling them wakes them up. Tread carefully.

[Anonymous]

So I tried to order Score Watch from myFico as I want to  improve my credit score, and want to see if it is improving. Also, I ordered a property report on a house I am looking at. It said, "We regret that we are unable to fulfill your order for Score Watch® because your credit report does not currently contain enough information to meet the minimum scoring criteria required to calculate a FICO® score."

So what now?

[RobertEG]

I dont want to sound totally negative, but, in my opinion,  this is NOT the time for you to be applying for a high-principal extension of credit.

You have high exisiting debt, and multiple creditors, be they an OC, or in most cases, a CA, who have posted claims for prior, untimely payment of debt.

In addition, they are also posting that the debt remains unpaid.  They can sue.

You have no open credit.

Mortage lendors dont like to be third, fifth or tenth in line, escpecially when the offered credit is very high.

No high-end mortgage lendor wiil be likely to extend you big bucks with a line of prior creditors standing in line in front of them with pirior claims, and potential legal action, regardless of any tweaks you can now make to your credit score.

Most mortgage lendors will requrire, regardlesss of FICO scores, prior payment of existing reporting of debt.

That is now, appparently, a challenge of close to $12K of payment of existing debt before they would want to assess the grant of further debt.

I think that home purchase is not a reality now.

[llecs]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

So I tried to order Score Watch from myFico as I want to  improve my credit score, and want to see if it is improving. Also, I ordered a property report on a house I am looking at. It said, "We regret that we are unable to fulfill your order for Score Watch® because your credit report does not currently contain enough information to meet the minimum scoring criteria required to calculate a FICO® score."

So what now?

---

See if this applies (from here):

What are the minimum requirements for a FICO score?

There's really not much to it; in order for a FICO® score to be calculated, a credit report must contain these minimum requirements:

• At least one account that has been open for six months or more
• At least one undisputed account that has been reported to the credit bureau with in the past six months
• No indication of deceased on the credit report (Please note: if you share an account with another person this may affect you if the other account holder is reported deceased).

[diveforfun97]

This is pretty sound advice.  Especially the part saying that mortgage lenders do not want to be 3rd, or 4th in line.  I would pick away at your current obligations, and let time run its course.  Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I am confident that with hard work I will be able to purchase a home in 7 months to a year. I have enough salary to sustain all my montly debts, a mortgage, insuarance, etc. Thinking positive, but not getting my hopes up

My goal now is to improve my credit score (that I can't even see lol). I will start with paying off the smaller debts after (if I am correct) getting a DV then sending a PFD. While hoping they accept a PFD.

What are the minimum requirements for a FICO score?

There's really not much to it; in order for a FICO® score to be calculated, a credit report must contain these minimum requirements:

• At least one account that has been open for six months or more
• At least one undisputed account that has been reported to the credit bureau with in the past six months
• No indication of deceased on the credit report (Please note: if you share an account with another person this may affect you if the other account holder is reported deceased).

No one listed as deceased. Since I majorly screwed up everything when I was in my early 20s, I don't think I have one undisputed account or one account that has been open for 6 months.

So what can I do to be able to get a FICO score? Clean up my credit enough to be approved for a CC, and make payments on time until 6 months have gone by?

Can lenders or anyone pulling your CR still recieve a credit score, and tell you what it is?