I get slow and steady....but this is crawling....

[Anonymous]

Hithis I all. This is my first post so please bear with me. A few years ago my husband and I hit a rocky patch after I lost my job. Things stabbled out about two years ago, and about a year ago we actually had extra income to pay off some of the debt we had incurred. Knowing that we were 100% responsible for the money we slowly started paying things off. In June we came into a sum of money, allowing us to pay off 8000 of unsecured credit card debt, hyell interest rate loans and the few remaining collections. We now have four credit cards with very lowbalances, and two car payments. Paying everything off caused the credit score to plummet unbelievably, and we hoped it would recover over July. However a check yesterday revealed the scoreonly increased 4 points over 30 days. What am I doing wrong?  it seems to me that things had beein increasing at a faster rate before we dumped all our money into paying the last few things off. Also we did not recently close any accounts to causesuch a drastic drop. (sorry for the typos, it won't let me go back and fix them withoutdeleting all I have already typed.) anyinput, guidance or encouragement would be great! Thanks!

[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.

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

and Example letters - PFDs, GWs, DVs, etc.

First things first...where are you getting your credit scores from?

Were the revolving accounts opened or closed?

[Anonymous]

I'm just one of the many that will chime in.

I feel you should look at in in a positive light a 4pt increase is better than 0pts. At the rate your going now there, isn't any where to go but UP as long as both of you continue keep your accounts in good standing.

All in all Congrats on the 4pt increase.

[Anonymous]

The accounts that we paid off in a largslumps sum were 3 credit cards that were in good standing but had high balances, 4 various items that were in serious delinquency ( a gym membership, cable bill, unpaid water bill etc.) and two unsecured loans that were around one year and six months old that we had opened hoping to improve our score, but reallyonly increased our debt to income ratio. These accounts were both always paid on time prior to being paid off and closed. 

I am pulling my Experian, Transunion and Equi fax credit scores. Right now we are sitting at 580. We want to be at 620. We had met with a mortgage company who said getting our score up "wouldn't be a problem at all!" and encourage us tofind a house. Our mortgage would be less than rent. The builders, on advice from the mortgage company have begun construction, and yet it looks like our credit won't be where it should be by closing. The mortgage company sounded genuinely surprised about the 4 point increase, they expected much more if we followed their guidance. 

Thank you for thesuggested reading.

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much for the encouragement! 

[doc101]

I agree with lupiin, a few points is better than 0. I started out at 453 and now I'm just above 600. It's a timely process, but don't get discouraged, keep fighting the good fight and doing everything you've done up to this point. There are alot of helpful people out with tons of knowledge, so don't be afraid to ask for advice whenever you need it. I only wish I had found this site months ago, but I'm gonna make up for lost time.......and I'm sure that you will too........keep on scratching!!!!