Whats my next step?

[amclaughlin42]

So me and my wife are needing to buy a house April 2016. We are wanting to keep it under 75K. We have about 5000 to put down by then. We do have few issues. We had to buy a new car this past year, the dealership stiffed us and it doesn't have A/C, we were wanting to refinance it, but the problem is, I have 43 inquiries on my credit report, well on my TU. I have 4 credit cards companies, and one cellular company, the rest are from shopping for a car, before I realized i was dead in terms of credit, I went two other dealers before we found out one that we got our car from, and they put 32 inquiries alone on my credit report. My wifes brother died right after we moved, so we had to use our credit cards and are paying them down now. It was sudden. but we will have both our cards paid down with the next month, our car payment is exceedingly high, $450 a month, we haven't been able to pay extra on our car payment, we had to save up to move for a couple months, and then with my BIL passed, and it was hard on us financially. My wife doesn't work and the only income she has is child support, which isn't much.

Once everything is paid off whats our next move?

Do I put more money down on my secured credit card to increase my line of credit?

I cannot pay off my car entirely before then. My payoff amount left is $18, 250.

My interest rate on my car is 22%, me and my wife want to get a new car is 3-4 years. Once its paid off.

I will have had 2 lines of credit open by Feburary 2016. My wife will have 1. 

My wife has some collections. Her biggest one that is almost 1200 will fall off by January 2016.

As far as a mortgage goes, how much would we have to pay for closing costs? can we make extra money in payments towards closing?

[Relique]

Some of the details aren't completely clear so I am sorry if I can't give you a more complete answer. But in regards to the credit inquiries, if you are shopping for car loan or mortages then all inquiries from a day count as one for scoring purposes. Here it is explained directly by Experian:

http://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/2013/01/30/multiple-auto-loan-inquiries-count-as-only-one...

So the good news is that the car shopping inquiries would not hurt your score too much for home buying.

As for the credit related questions. It would be helpful to know how many accounts you have with what limits and if you know your current scores.. etc

[Anonymous]

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@amclaughlin42 wrote:

So me and my wife are needing to buy a house April 2016. We are wanting to keep it under 75K. We have about 5000 to put down by then. We do have few issues. We had to buy a new car this past year, the dealership stiffed us and it doesn't have A/C, we were wanting to refinance it, but the problem is, I have 43 inquiries on my credit report, well on my TU. I have 4 credit cards companies, and one cellular company, the rest are from shopping for a car, before I realized i was dead in terms of credit, I went two other dealers before we found out one that we got our car from, and they put 32 inquiries alone on my credit report. My wifes brother died right after we moved, so we had to use our credit cards and are paying them down now. It was sudden. but we will have both our cards paid down with the next month, our car payment is exceedingly high, $450 a month, we haven't been able to pay extra on our car payment, we had to save up to move for a couple months, and then with my BIL passed, and it was hard on us financially. My wife doesn't work and the only income she has is child support, which isn't much.

Once everything is paid off whats our next move? You need to establish 3 revolving lines of credit for each of you.

Do I put more money down on my secured credit card to increase my line of credit? No.

I cannot pay off my car entirely before then. My payoff amount left is $18, 250. What were your scores when you got the car, and what are your scores now?

My interest rate on my car is 22%, me and my wife want to get a new car is 3-4 years. Once its paid off.

I will have had 2 lines of credit open by Feburary 2016. My wife will have 1. 

My wife has some collections. Her biggest one that is almost 1200 will fall off by January 2016.

As far as a mortgage goes, how much would we have to pay for closing costs? can we make extra money in payments towards closing? If you're "cash poor" after the down payment, you can make offers where you pay a little more over the asking price, and ask the seller to pay the closing costs.

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[amclaughlin42]

We were told by the bank, that we needed 2 lines of credit but 3 was prefered. 

I didn't have score before then. I had just started building credit. And on top of that experian still hasn't updated so I cannot check my 3B report and scores.

I am not even planning on my wife being on the loan, because it would do more harm then good. SInce she has a few collections and not enough open lines of credit.

[amclaughlin42]

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@Relique wrote:

Some of the details aren't completely clear so I am sorry if I can't give you a more complete answer. But in regards to the credit inquiries, if you are shopping for car loan or mortages then all inquiries from a day count as one for scoring purposes. Here it is explained directly by Experian:

http://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/2013/01/30/multiple-auto-loan-inquiries-count-as-only-one...

So the good news is that the car shopping inquiries would not hurt your score too much for home buying.

As for the credit related questions. It would be helpful to know how many accounts you have with what limits and if you know your current scores.. etc

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We tried to go for a refi recently on my car, and we were told by the bank, that we had 43 inquiries on our credit and they couldn't help us.

[Bankrupt2019]

damn, 22% they took you for a ride, eh?

[amclaughlin42]

Yeah, but unfortunately it was that, or buy here pay here. And thats was only a last ditch effort.

[kennerchick]

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@amclaughlin42 wrote:

My wife has some collections. Her biggest one that is almost 1200 will fall off by January 2016.

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Have your wife call the CRA's and ask for an Early Exclusion (EE) on her reports.  TU may say yes.  EQ and EX may or may not agree and may tell her to call back in October.  If the rep she is are speaking with doesn't know what she's talking about, ask to speak with a supervisor. 

Good Luck!

[Anonymous]

To Me your next move should be getting your credit in good standings with a decent score for you and your wife. You might not be able to get a mortage in your case.  If your wife could work, she should get a job cause two income are better than one and it could help with paying down and off bills.  If your car apr is high Im sure your mortgage wouldnt be any better if you get one.  No need to rush houses will be there when your credit is up to par.  Have patience and and continue reading these blogs and getting understanding on how to do things.  Youre in the right place for help for all of us were where you are one point in time. Stay strong and just work on your credit.

[J91605]

Yes, getting your credit in good standing should be your first priority. As you improve your credit you will be able to refi your vehicle for a better interest rate. Once you get to that point you will know your on your way to a home loan. Remember, if you were able to get a mortgage the rate would be so high you would probably pay for it 3 times on a 30yr loan. Be patient. Learn as must as you can from this board. Create a plan then follow it. Good luck with getting your first home.