Where do i begin in this jumbled up mess

[gbpackers88]

After a few weeks of reading around and starting to get a grasp on things i am turning to you guys for help and a means of getting started fixing my mess. I am recently engaged and me and my fiancee are in the process of house hunting. We went to a mortgage lender (a friend of the family) He stated that we needed at least a 620 to be considered for a FHA loan. I said okay i'm not 100% percent where i am at with my credit score, since then i am aware of where i am i have scores as follows: EQ 562, TU 538, and EX 563 These are the lender pulls. I have several positive tradelines including my Car loan and several student loans, however i also have a handfull of negative ones. I won't mention the good ones. Also these are all in my SOL of PA. I also do not dispute any of the tradelines to my knowledge all are correct. I really just need help forming an action plan to get me to the best credit score i know nothing is fast happening, but we are looking within 6-12 months to try approval again. Thanks again.

Plan to Goodwill for late payment:Lebanon FCU Car loanDOLA: 11/11Balance: 2761Late Dates: 5/11-30 days

Collection Accounts:

Capital One                            DOLA: 11/10  Balance: 983  Several Lates/Charge off

Bank Of America                   DOLA: 03/10  Balance: 981  Several Lates/Charge off

Midland Credit MGM             DOLA: 05/10  Balance: 783  Collection

Chase                                     DOLA: 04/10  Balance: 598  Several Lates/Charge off

Credit Protection(Comcast)DOLA: 04/10  Balance 409  Collection

I am not sure whether or not i still need to DV or if i should go straight for the PFD. Also if they don't accept a PFD does it help me to settle for less then to do nothing at all? I am just confused over what will help me more or will hurt me. Please help.

Tyler

[RobertEG]

Whether or not to DV depends upon your issue with the legitimacy of the debt, whether you believe the creditor can provide the debt collector verification that is is accurate, and whether you dispute the debt, in whole or in part.

When also contemplating a PFD negotiation, a DV could be detrimental.  First, unless you live in Texas, there is no period in which a debt collector must, or even has to, provide any debt verifiction.  What it does is to place them under an automatice cease collection bar until such time as they provide the requested verification.

Second, while under a cease collection bar, you have precluded the debt collector from any negotiations with you. 

Whether or not to first DV is a personal choice.  You can DV before pursuing PFD, but it will most likely slow down the process.

With a loan approval process on the horizon, the lendor may require payment of the collections prior to any final loan approval.  Also, the period of time between loan app and payment may be one of their consdierations.  I would chew his ear a bit more relating to requirement to pay, and how long after paying it might still impact loan approval.

[whodatnation2]

I have a similar situation RobertEG. I actually live in texas and had a collection pop up around 5 months ago. They never contacted me or sent me a dunning notice. I actually contacted them when I saw it on my CR. What are my options??

[RobertEG]

Both the federal and Texas versions of the FDCPA require any debt collector to send you dunning notice within 5 days of any initial communication with a consumer.

Both administrative pronouncements by the FTC and a long list of case law makes it clear that reporting to a CRA is considered an "initial communication" within the meaning of FDCPA 809(a).  So you have a violation of both the Texas debt collection code and the federal FDCPA.

You can file a complaint, either with the relevant Texas administrative agency or the FTC, of their violation.  In practice, such complaints, at least to the FTC for violation of the FDCPA, are not pursued by litigation by the FTC when filed by an individual consumer.  However, they do result in some letter-writing to the debt collector, and will put them under the light.

You can independently bring your own civil action for FDCPA violations under FDCPA 813.

Violations of the FDCPA are not disputable credit report inaccuracies coverd by the FCRA.