What else can I do?

[Anonymous]

Ok, I have a mid fico score of 597, there has been nothing bad added to my report in 2 years and 7 months. Most of the "bad stuff" is medical and only 5 of those. Two utilities which will drop off soon and one repo that was sold to LVNV funding that I am about to tackle because I believe they have incorrect information. Other than that my score is low because there is no revolving credit. No cards, no loans, no nothing in the way of open accounts. I am getting a secured credit card from Orchard Bank and they say they report to all major credit agencies. Other than that what else can I do to boost my score? I am wanting to buy a home in the coming months before interest rates go up so I need a 620 at the very least. So I need 23 pts more added to this 597 score. I appreciate your ideas.

[Anonymous]

Even getting a CC or two will not really help your score.  Your negative accounts are holding your score down.

Are the medicals collection accounts?

How old is the repo?

It is always better to repair before you rebuild.

[Anonymous]

Are the medical collections paid?

[Anonymous]

Score wise, paid collections are the same as unpaid ones. 

[Anonymous]

ok, the medical collections are old bills that workers comp did not pay completely and I have already put a note to that plus I have had a mtg co tell me that those will not impact my ability to get a loan so I am not concerned with them. The repo is 3 years old but the amount that they say I owe is wrong. The vehicle sold at an auction and I had recieved a letter from the origonal creditor that the amount was much smaller. Lvnv bought the debt. I have also had a mtg co tell me that it may not be a concern because of the age of it. Other than that I have been told by a credit counselor, non profit one) that the reason my score is so low is because I have no open credit, no trade lines at all. She told me that removing one or two things from my report would not impact it much but establishing new credit would dramatically do so.

[Anonymous]

I would have to respectfully disagree with the counsler.  COs and collections are very big when it comes to hurting your score.

You do need to get a CC or 2 but first I would repair what you have then try to rebuild.

[LIGHTNIN]

IMHO, I would read some of the post here. The ones that says 28pts increase & 30 points increase.

Both of those are for deleting a collections.

It's better to repair credit first, then build credit.

The only person who knows best, what to do with your credit score is you. 

I would see how others here, increased their score, then you can make up your own mind, on who's right and who's wrong.

Good Luck to You!! 

[Anonymous]

No one said any one was wrong, they just disagreed with a statement.  What works for one does not necessarily work for another. 

If a person has all negatives on their CR, getting any amount of CC is not going to improve their scores. 

Negatives have a bigger impact on a FICO score than the good things.  Especially when there is a 3:1 ratio.

And if a person is coming to this sight for help, I am to assume that they do not know what is best for their score.

The newer the negative, the more of a score increase for having it removed.