Good afternoon myFICO community. I'm proud to say that I've now taken my second step to credits prosperity (first step chapter 7) by actively participating on this forum. With each others help, we can all reach our goals. Right now I need some advice; last year I filed for bankruptcy and it was discharged in 8/11. In sept/2011, I applied for a Cap1 and Orchard Bank cc and were approved for both. Both cards were very low CL (Cap1 $500, today $750, Orchard Bank $320, today $420) but until this very day, I have paid them both on time and has utilized no more than 25% of my limit. In addition to that, I have about $32k combined of student loan which I have also been faitfully paying for some time now. Aside from these cards and the student loans, I the only derogatoric information I have on my credit report is the Bankruptcy, a few inquiriries and the 8 or 9 accounts that I claimed in my BK case.
After my BK was discharged in 8/11 my scores were in the high 500's, as of today my EQ 655, TU 639, and EX 640. I'm somewhat pleased with the improvement but I would like it to be higher. By the end of 2012, I'm hoping to get approved for at least an 23k auto load with my credit union (PenFed or NavyFed) but I'm going to wait until the end of the year so that I can give myself more time to improve my score some more.
myFICO community, aside from the obvious of paying my bills on time, keeping a low balance, and being patient, is there's anyting else I can do to augment my scores within these next 4 months? I'm thinking of maybe sending one of those "magical" dispute letters to try to delete some of those old accounts that have been included in my bankruptcy but will that make a difference or will it make things worse? Anyway, please let me know and as always, thank you for all your help in advance.
Starting Score: 502
@rootpooty...Ok, so I won't dispute then. As for NFCU, I was actually thinking of applying for a cc but not until next year. I'm seeing ppl on here with scores lower than mines claiming they're getting approved for cl with them for 6-8k plus. I just don't want to take another hit on my scores. My objective is to apply for an auto loan with them in December and hopefully get approved with a decent apr for up to 20-25k. I didn't plan on applying for any credit before that; the FICO simulator says that my scores would drop a little bit if I had applied for a new line of credit. What would you guys suggest? Thanks in advance.
@rootpooty wrote:I take it your elegible for nfcu products? if so I would jump on a cc with them and start building with them. As far as a magical DISPUTE letter, im hoping your not planning on disputing accurate info on your reports cause that could make things worse
@Anonymous, would it make a difference if I did it over the phone, online, etc? And are they bk friendly? Thx again.
@jamie123 wrote:I'd try getting an NFCU card now. It will help build some history with them before you app for the auto loan. If you get the NFCU card it will only help your scores.
Recon??? Pardon my ignorance but what's that? Thanks.
@jamie123 wrote:
@miltolam wrote:@Anonymous, would it make a difference if I did it over the phone, online, etc? And are they bk friendly? Thx again.
@jamie123 wrote:I'd try getting an NFCU card now. It will help build some history with them before you app for the auto loan. If you get the NFCU card it will only help your scores.
It doesn't matter how you apply.
You may however be denied at first because of the BK. Be prepared to do a recon.
