@damac2004 wrote:i don't have any new inquiries since i opened 2 installment loans, prosper($2000) and lending club ($7000) in july 2015. at the time i assumed i needed something for credit mix and this was before i found out about the forums secured loan trick, and i own my cars for the near future.
i let one credit card report a small balance to keep activity and rotate them around. i noticed i took a score hit like people on forums say when i paid them all off.
i'm just sitting still and want to max my score for the near future which sits at 797
the installment loans are reporting 38% payed off.
if i am reading right i need to keep atleast one account open? not sure if i should pay one completely off and then let the other ride out or if i should pay both balances down, etc.?
thanks for any info!
What matters is getting the aggregate down to 9%.
Since keeping both open makes it easier to get to that number, keep them both open.
Then when you have one of them down to 9% you can close the other.
they were 36 month loans and i thought i was doing something smart for the future back then 
i may be looking to rent for a short period then buy a home with a family member.
ok so if i read correctly the secured loan route is only a soft pull.
once this reports i assume i would take a score hit?
then i pay the other 2 loans off and the secured loan down and when those report i will be at my max score until some other event like aging of accounts.
i noticed in myfico the installment loan places i have don't report as often as the credit cards might. so this process could easily take me a couple months if not more for everything to report?
My comment below in blue. :-)
@damac2004 wrote:they were 36 month loans and i thought i was doing something smart for the future back then
Mortgage lenders currently use very old FICO models, much older than FICO 8. The EQ and TU mortgage scores will not benefit from doing all kinds of clever stuff with installment loan balances. The EX score probably will, however. On the whole I think adding the SS loan makes sense since right now you have very few accounts and it will also help you with your EX score. Furthermore, if you end up not buying a home until 2018 (say) it's possible that these old models will not be used anymore by that time.
ok so if i read correctly the secured loan route is only a soft pull.
Yes, but that assumes you use Alliant.
once this reports i assume i would take a score hit?
That does not follow. Your AAoA will take a hit, but that doesn't mean your score will Your score might remain unchanged.
then i pay the other 2 loans off and the secured loan down and when those report i will be at my max score until some other event like aging of accounts.
Yes.
i noticed in myfico the installment loan places i have don't report as often as the credit cards might. so this process could easily take me a couple months if not more for everything to report?
Possibly. The next steps for you in my opinion are these:
(1) Re-read the SSL guidance and make sure it makes sense and that you want to do it.
(2) Call your lenders and find out what will happen if you pay the loan way down. What you would love to hear is that at least one of them works the way Alliant does. Namely that the huge paydown will push the next payment way into the future (but nevertheless you have still paid off most of the principal, and so you are now paying very little in interest). If they tell you that both are true (low principal and no payment due for most of the life life of the loan) that's great to hear. You then don't have to start work on the Alliant loan any time soon.
(3) Regardless you will want to time the Alliant loan so that it is fully in place (and paid down) a month before your other loans are fully paid off. Alliant reports to the bureaus once a month at the end of each month.