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My Journey SO far and need advise

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Chestnut1
Regular Contributor

My Journey SO far and need advise

Hello All ,

Long read this would be, but i wanted to put my pain down here. Also, this will be a lesson to anyone who is trying to come out of Bad credit.

 

This is my first post here. Hence i would like to give some background. My Credit woes started way back in 2015. I came to this country in 2010 with a very solid job that paid me $84K back then. I got BoFA cards Secured Card $300 and unsecured CL$8500. All was nice and i started spending a lot on those cards without having knowledge about Credit. Back in my country, there is nothing as Credit, so i was completely oblivious . BoFA cards reached Max UTL and i was in such a high with my life that i did not bother to pay even Min. Payments. Stupid Stupid Stupid. I was young. Eventually, in 2012 they sent me a letter saying they are closing off my BoFA ccs. I tossed that letter into the Dustbin like it meant nothing. I had a car back then with Chase AutoLoan. I was paying EMIs regularly on it. 

from 2010 - 2014, i did not even know how credit works and what it can do to one in the long run.

 

2014 - Moved to different city for even a better job with $115K pay. Awesome right, yes. thats what i thought. This city just killed me ( i love this city ). When i moved in, a friend and I decided to get an apartment. I offered him to be on the lease. he said, nah. i"ll get the lease and do all the doc work and let you know. You can move in day 1 and we will be like bros and just party every night. We both were earning handsome salaries. I made series of mistakes from here which led me down, like seriously down. All becuase of no knowledge about the credit.

I started missign out on My Car EMIs, not because i didn't have money. I was lazy to go to the bank and pay. ( Download the App and Auto PAY guys. very important ). I got couple 30/60 lates on it.

 

Mid 2015 - My friend and i had to part ways as he was moving in with his GF. I was like okie, i will find a place of my own. that is when i first checked my credit score. I guess it was low 600s. Did not care. but i knew i would not be able to rent a nice place. It was kinda status symbol for me back then since i was making decent money ( with yearly increments/promotions, i reached $130K salary by this time ). Met another friend and he told me the same thing again that he will get a place and all i have to do is just move in. I agreed because i knew i would not be able to rent a palce by myself. This place is with a city view, flashy lights and expensive. My party life went 10X and with the rent, eating out, partying, my salary was not enough anymore. So i started NOT PAYING MY CAR EMIs any more.I missed 6 payments straight.

 

2016 Jan1st ( new years ) - My car was Repo'ed . What a way to start new years. next month B'day and i'm about to trun 30. I sat in my home that day and checked my scores low 500s flat across the board. I was devastated. I decided to move out and get into a smaller apartment. Although in the same NICE nieghborhood. My GF was with me and we decided to move in. Tough times for me as i was denied Apartment rental at every place that i applied. By end of 2016, i found a NICE apartment where they were renting a big Master Bed with attached bath for $1500. The guy staying there said no lease agreement required. I love my gf. She moved in with me in to that bedroom. I was really sad that night for the state i've put my gf in and also that i'm in. For the money i was making, i could OWN/RENT a very nice Apartment and we both could have lived happily ever after. but no. Anyway, i decided to make my situation better. That is when i started reading this forum. 

YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING. i learnt (for the first time) a lot about mix of credit, How having an Auto Loan can show up as a great mix with some CCs, UTL, Paying on time etc etc. 

 

Early 2017s : At this point i did not have any credit card. No body was willing to give me any. I decided to take an Auto Loan with 9% Interest. Somehow got that. I got a car. thinking this loan could help me set my Credit scores back in line. few months later First Progress Gave me a Secured card. So i deposited $1000 and got the credit card. I know they would report to CBs. 

Few months went by and my score did not see any great progress. 

 

Mid 2017, Another Depressing news. the guy who lent us the Master bed decided to move out and asked me if i want to take the lease. I cried that night again. Second time in a row i let my GF down. i told him that i need his help. I dont have credit and i won't be able to rent this apartment and if he leaves, we will have no place to stay. What a nice guy he is. God bless him. He said he will sign the lease for 2 years and hand the keys to me ( he trusted me because he knew i work for a great company and make good money and we have been best friends by then ). Off he goes and we are kinda set for 2 more years, that is till mid 2019. I had enough time to work on my Credit. 

 

Couple months later, I applied for Cap One Journey Secured card and got a CL of $300. First time ever i got a big bank card. I was happy. couple months later they did a CLi and gave me $600 CL now and offered another Secured card with $300. I took it . Now i have 2 CapOne CCs.  from this forum, i also understood the importance of having TOTAL CREDIT available becuase that allows me to play with UTL %age. 

 

couple months later the predatory Credit one came in and gave me a $1000 Unsecured card. I wanted some card to keep my TOTAL AVAIL CREDIT increased. Took it. Couple months from then they offered another credit card with $1500. I took that one too.

Few months went by and i checked my scores ( August 2018 ) all around 580s. I saw some improvement there because of my UTL < 10% and regular payments. I just kept doing it month after month, looking at CC balances, making math as how much to pay and how much balance to leave to space out the Score increase. I believe i did a good Job. come 2019 May ( end of lease on my apartment ), we had to get a new apartment. We found a house My wife liked a lot. she wanted it. Its a private condo in one of the most NICEST places around.

Oh wait, forgot to tell you,

Married my GF in 2018 year end. Happiest day of life. She is one of the most understanding persons i've ever met in my life. She stood by me like a rock during those tough times.

Anyway, back to the story and May 2019. I hesitantly applied for the house. Landlord pulled the scores EX : 650 TU : 635 EQ : 640

Landlord was hesitant, So i offered to pay 6 months rent in advance. $18000. She agreed and we moved in to this nice place in mid 2019. My wife has never been so happier. I continued my plan and paying everything on time and managing CC balances up and down to get a score increase.

So today 10/20/2019. My FICO 8 Scores are EX : 671 TU : 665 EQ : 671.

 

I have following baddies.

 

Chase Auto Fin : Charged off as bad debt. Last reported Apr 2018

BoFA $8500 CL CC : Closed ( i paid in full after. Bad decision. Should have done PFD ) by creditor. Still showing as Deliq

BoFA $300 CL CC : Closed. Showing as Deliq

 

Good news. 2 weeks ago, i saw that i have a Disco IT pre-qualify offer. Applied knowing i wont get it. Boom Boom boom. Got a sweet $10,000 CL on it. Happiest day of my life. Biggest card so far.

 

My Current wallet looks like this. 

Fico 8

EX : 671

TU : 665

EQ : 671

 

First progress : $1000 CL . 0 UTL

CapOne $600 CL. 20% UTL

CapOne $300 CL. 30% UTL

Credit one $1500 CL. 10% UTL

Credit one $100 CL. 15 %UTL

DISCO IT $10,000 CL. 1% UTL. ( Not reported yet )

 

Just yesterday i paid off almost all the above CCs which will bring my Total UTL to < 3% by next month( hoping Disco reports next week ). I'm hoping this will give me atleast 10+ points boost taking my scores to 680s.

 

Questions :

 

1. Do i need to work on those baddies now or let them leave till 2025 to wear off. I'm worried if i touch them, they might reset the last

reported date to current.

 

2. I'm in a good state to get rid off those predatory Credit One and First progress Cards ( might dip my Total age of my file. Right now its 2 years average age with FP being the oldest card, follwed by Credit ones in that order )

 

Sorry about the long story. i had to take this off my chest. AND THANK YOU. you guys are amazing.

 

 

 

 

11/10/18 EX: 540 TU: 525 EQ: 535
10/20/19 EX: 671 TU: 665 EQ: 671
11/07/19 EX: 676 TU: 673 EQ: 676
12/31/19 EX: 669 TU: 679 EQ: 673
01/06/20 EX: 670 TU: 682 EQ: 682
Paid Charge off to $0 in Dec 2019, reported Jan 2020
01/15/20 EX: 666 TU: 655 EQ: 660
02/07/20 EX: 676 TU: 668 EQ: 668
05/08/20 EX: 685 TU: 685 EQ: 682
05/18/20 EX: 690 TU: 685 EQ: 682
03/16/21 EX: 702 TU: 697 EQ: 700
04/20/21 EX: 705 TU: 700 EQ: 702
04/19/22 EX: 716 TU: 705 EQ: 716




Mortgage Middle Score 682 (Old)
Mortgage Middle Score 706 (New)
Message 1 of 12
11 REPLIES 11
Rebuild2019
Valued Contributor

Re: My Journey SO far and need advise

Wow!!! What a story @Chestnut1
Welcome to the forum. The next time I feel down about my credit. I am going to remember your story.

I am very happy you have got yourself in a much better position and happy you two are married. Thanks for sharing this.

Good luck continuing your journey!!

CARDS: Discover It | Kohl’s | Truist Spectrum Cash Rewards | Truist Bright | CITI Custom Cash | Chase Freedom Flex | Chase Amazon Prime Visa | VACU Cash Rewards Mastercard | Sam’s Club Mastercard | PenFed Gold Visa | NFCU CashRewards | NFCU More Rewards | NFCU Platinum Visa | AMEX BCE | Verizon Visa | Wells Fargo Active Cash | Amazon Prime | NFCU Auto Loan
Starting Scores 05/2019: EQ:519, EX:525, TU:574

CLOSED : Capital One Quicksilver One | OpenSky |
Message 2 of 12
AllZero
Mega Contributor

Re: My Journey SO far and need advise

Congratulations on your success!

1.
- Find out what are the DOFD Date Of First Delinquency per account.
- If you have the funds to pay off the debt, you should, unless you can wait until 2025. Ask for PFD Pay For Delete. Paid In Full > settle for less > unpaid.
- Look into the Good Will Writing Campaign Saturation Technique.

2. Closed accounts will not affect your age of accounts until removed from your credit report. They can stay up to 10 years from closed date.
Message 3 of 12
Chestnut1
Regular Contributor

Re: My Journey SO far and need advise

Thank you very much and all the luck to you in your path upward.

11/10/18 EX: 540 TU: 525 EQ: 535
10/20/19 EX: 671 TU: 665 EQ: 671
11/07/19 EX: 676 TU: 673 EQ: 676
12/31/19 EX: 669 TU: 679 EQ: 673
01/06/20 EX: 670 TU: 682 EQ: 682
Paid Charge off to $0 in Dec 2019, reported Jan 2020
01/15/20 EX: 666 TU: 655 EQ: 660
02/07/20 EX: 676 TU: 668 EQ: 668
05/08/20 EX: 685 TU: 685 EQ: 682
05/18/20 EX: 690 TU: 685 EQ: 682
03/16/21 EX: 702 TU: 697 EQ: 700
04/20/21 EX: 705 TU: 700 EQ: 702
04/19/22 EX: 716 TU: 705 EQ: 716




Mortgage Middle Score 682 (Old)
Mortgage Middle Score 706 (New)
Message 4 of 12
Chestnut1
Regular Contributor

Re: My Journey SO far and need advise

1. Thank you. Will find out on that. i can do PFD on Chase Auto Fin ( currently in Charged off as bad debt. ). I can also do the same on BoFA CL$300 ( currently in Chared off and closed ). Do you think these big banks would even listen to my request let alone working on it ?

 

2. Great information. Will go ahead and close thre Predatories First Progress & 2 Credit Ones. Great advise. thank you very much.

11/10/18 EX: 540 TU: 525 EQ: 535
10/20/19 EX: 671 TU: 665 EQ: 671
11/07/19 EX: 676 TU: 673 EQ: 676
12/31/19 EX: 669 TU: 679 EQ: 673
01/06/20 EX: 670 TU: 682 EQ: 682
Paid Charge off to $0 in Dec 2019, reported Jan 2020
01/15/20 EX: 666 TU: 655 EQ: 660
02/07/20 EX: 676 TU: 668 EQ: 668
05/08/20 EX: 685 TU: 685 EQ: 682
05/18/20 EX: 690 TU: 685 EQ: 682
03/16/21 EX: 702 TU: 697 EQ: 700
04/20/21 EX: 705 TU: 700 EQ: 702
04/19/22 EX: 716 TU: 705 EQ: 716




Mortgage Middle Score 682 (Old)
Mortgage Middle Score 706 (New)
Message 5 of 12
AllZero
Mega Contributor

Re: My Journey SO far and need advise

1. I would think they would be more receptive to your request if they know you're going to pay off the debt. I don't have a definitive answer for you if they will or will not PFD.

2. Glad you'll close the predatory cards that charge high interest and monthly, annual fees.
Message 6 of 12
Brooklyn2018
Valued Contributor

Re: My Journey SO far and need advise

@Chestnut1

That was a very humbling experience and some amazing lessons learned. You should be proud of yourself. You took care of your business...like a man. Hats off to your DW for sticking by your side.

Pretty crazy roller coaster of events. WOW! Glad you’re back on track.👍 Happy for your new found life, wife, and change of ways.

Welcome to MyFICO Forums!!👍

Best of Luck on your credit journey!🤞😇

Goal Score: 600(within a year)**MET MY GOAL** | Goal Score: 700**MET MY GOAL** | Goal score: 800
Take the myFICO Fitness Challenge




>


I❤️NY
Message 7 of 12
FireMedic1
Community Leader
Mega Contributor

Re: My Journey SO far and need advise

For once a long post worth reading. Dang dude way to go. Congrats! I'll even dig the grave for those vulture cards for you. Chase and BoA arent known to do PFD. But anything looks better paid than owed. And it will quit the neg monthly updating. Congrats on the Disco BTW! Massive SL! Good Luck!


Message 8 of 12
Chestnut1
Regular Contributor

Re: My Journey SO far and need advise

Thank you very much :-)

11/10/18 EX: 540 TU: 525 EQ: 535
10/20/19 EX: 671 TU: 665 EQ: 671
11/07/19 EX: 676 TU: 673 EQ: 676
12/31/19 EX: 669 TU: 679 EQ: 673
01/06/20 EX: 670 TU: 682 EQ: 682
Paid Charge off to $0 in Dec 2019, reported Jan 2020
01/15/20 EX: 666 TU: 655 EQ: 660
02/07/20 EX: 676 TU: 668 EQ: 668
05/08/20 EX: 685 TU: 685 EQ: 682
05/18/20 EX: 690 TU: 685 EQ: 682
03/16/21 EX: 702 TU: 697 EQ: 700
04/20/21 EX: 705 TU: 700 EQ: 702
04/19/22 EX: 716 TU: 705 EQ: 716




Mortgage Middle Score 682 (Old)
Mortgage Middle Score 706 (New)
Message 9 of 12
Chestnut1
Regular Contributor

Re: My Journey SO far and need advise

Thank you very much. My only worry is about these Chase Auto ( Bal $3500, Currently Charged off as bad debt ) and BoFA $300 Cl ( Bal $300, Currently Closed, Reported as Deliq ). I read few stories here that when people paid the balances off, the account came back as collection/Chargeoff account paid in full and that set the clock to current resulting in Credit scores Plumetting. Its a catch 22 situation i feel. I don't pay them, they always show up as baddies. I pay them, they are reported current as PIF but the credit score will tank. I'm really thinking about all this. I have only 3 such baddies which looked at from 30000 ft, not bad but they are not letting my score grow the way i want to.

11/10/18 EX: 540 TU: 525 EQ: 535
10/20/19 EX: 671 TU: 665 EQ: 671
11/07/19 EX: 676 TU: 673 EQ: 676
12/31/19 EX: 669 TU: 679 EQ: 673
01/06/20 EX: 670 TU: 682 EQ: 682
Paid Charge off to $0 in Dec 2019, reported Jan 2020
01/15/20 EX: 666 TU: 655 EQ: 660
02/07/20 EX: 676 TU: 668 EQ: 668
05/08/20 EX: 685 TU: 685 EQ: 682
05/18/20 EX: 690 TU: 685 EQ: 682
03/16/21 EX: 702 TU: 697 EQ: 700
04/20/21 EX: 705 TU: 700 EQ: 702
04/19/22 EX: 716 TU: 705 EQ: 716




Mortgage Middle Score 682 (Old)
Mortgage Middle Score 706 (New)
Message 10 of 12
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