that stinks... 
Hi everyone,
It would seem though that any accounts you had with lates or collections "included in the BK" would fall off the same time (or most likely earlier) than the BK, so therefore, you wouldn't have any lates or public records showing (as long as you didn't have any after the BK filing as you were rebuilding credit). So technically, your score shouldn't go down -- if you were then put on a level playing field with others with no BKs or public records or lates, right? This is assuming during the time between discharge and the BK dropping off you've re-established credit, increasing credit limits over time, keeping balances at a reasonable utilization, maybe taken out a car loan or mortgage, etc.
My Ch. 13 BK was just discharged 2/08 (filed 10/04), but during the BK, I re-established credit with a student loan, two unsecured loans with Prosper (installment), a Dell account and an unsecured Household Bank account (revolving) that is now up to $1000 limit (started at $300). My car is paid off, so no auto loan yet, and I am looking at a mortgage hopefully in about 6 months. I also have a credit union LOC for $1000 and an Orchard Bank visa ($750 limit). I am hoping to increase the LOC and credit cards within 6 mos (hoping to have mid score over 700). I have no lates. All negative info is from BK or accounts included in BK.
I guess my question is that once my BK falls off in 10/2011 (another long 3+ years ), if I've "kept my nose clean" from now until then, how can my score go down? I appreciate any thoughts...
), if I've "kept my nose clean" from now until then, how can my score go down? I appreciate any thoughts...EXP 623 3/25/08
EQFX 616 3/25/08
TU 564 3/25/08
Exactly what I did ... CH-13 filed 2000... discharged 2003. When BK and all derogs included with it fell off last Sept my score went up 80 points to 777. It now stands 6 months later at 800 on EQ, 793 EX, and 787 TU.
laurenjane wrote:Hi everyone,It would seem though that any accounts you had with lates or collections "included in the BK" would fall off the same time (or most likely earlier) than the BK, so therefore, you wouldn't have any lates or public records showing (as long as you didn't have any after the BK filing as you were rebuilding credit). So technically, your score shouldn't go down -- if you were then put on a level playing field with others with no BKs or public records or lates, right? This is assuming during the time between discharge and the BK dropping off you've re-established credit, increasing credit limits over time, keeping balances at a reasonable utilization, maybe taken out a car loan or mortgage, etc.My Ch. 13 BK was just discharged 2/08 (filed 10/04), but during the BK, I re-established credit with a student loan, two unsecured loans with Prosper (installment), a Dell account and an unsecured Household Bank account (revolving) that is now up to $1000 limit (started at $300). My car is paid off, so no auto loan yet, and I am looking at a mortgage hopefully in about 6 months. I also have a credit union LOC for $1000 and an Orchard Bank visa ($750 limit). I am hoping to increase the LOC and credit cards within 6 mos (hoping to have mid score over 700). I have no lates. All negative info is from BK or accounts included in BK.I guess my question is that once my BK falls off in 10/2011 (another long 3+ yearsEXP 623 3/25/08EQFX 616 3/25/08TU 564 3/25/08
I didn't need but a couple CC's, my mortgage, my HELOC, and a very brief car loan to accomplish this. And of course paying on time all the time between then and now. I also only applied for credit that I actually needed and used. I'm a firm believer in the KISS method. 
I got lucky with my oldest TL... it's a line of credit attached to my checking account that I opened 17 yrs ago and still going strong, which they faithfully report every month. CU's are great! My average age of accounts is 7yrs. I had 1 CC from 93 that remained after filing which started out at 3500 and is now over 10k. I accepted an offer from Cap1 for a 7500 CC in 03 (after reading about them here I can't believe it was for that amount) Bought a car in 04 and paid it off 6 months later. In 05 I did a cashout refinance at 5.25%. In 06 I opened a HELOC. After everything did drop off, I did accept a pre approved from Chase and received a 14k CC. I don't need a lotta cards... too much hassle. Basically I did just fine with those 2 cards I had for those 7 years. But it was nice when all that trash dropped off!
Boscoe wrote:kimmerzz -How old is your oldest tradeline and about what is your avg. age? Those scores are great and I am wondering how old your credit is...............
The reason why one's scores might go down is b/c you will be rebucketed. The good news is that your scores should recover relatively quickly (provided you have established credit in the meantime), like a few months or even less in some instances.
BK7 lasts for 10 years (also BK11, BK 12). BK13 lasts for seven years, unless it was dismissed, then it lasts for 10 years.
BK7 lasts for 10 years (also BK11, BK 12). BK13 lasts for seven years, unless it was dismissed, then it lasts for 10 years.
Starting Score: 469
Valley, please don't close the cards, unless they are just bad cards to have (ie. AFs, MFs, etc). Just don't let half or more of your cards to reflect a balance and keep overall and individual uti b/w 1-9% and you will see a nice score bump now.
I am new to posting in the forums so I don't want to step on any toes but the sentiment of "people in the back row" is very condescending and helps no one. The fact is that there is no hard set rule about if it goes up or down. The fact is that the length of your oldest credit notation makes a difference and how many accounts you have in good standing and what your debt ratio is.
So for someone like myself, when I got my bankruptcy off my credit report (in 4 years) my score went from 662 to 725 but that is not to say that it will do that for everyone. I also have a 17+ year history on my report and I have no other negative items against me. The only reason it didn't go higher was that I have student loans in deferment that mess with my ratio. But 725 is nothing to sneeze at and I will take that for now over being turned down simply because my bankruptcy would show up. Even if it doesn't count against you in the score after 2 years, companies are likely to consider it just the same.
Try a few simple things to your best ability and you should be fine. 1) try as quickly as possible to rebuild your credit, 2) do not close good standing accounts, especially the longer you have had them the more they will help you, 3) don't make the mistake of using cash only as no activity will hurt you more, 4) try to get as many of the negative notations off your report as soon as possible, 5) don't use consolidation services and if you use services to remove your negative stuff be careful as they are not all the same, with a little patience you can do it yourself, 6) don't request too many credits in a short time, they will hurt you bad, especially if you are declined and even if you are not, finally) pay down as much as you can as fast as you can and keep your balances low, it takes more than 30 days for them to report your lower balance to the credit agencies and this means you ratio will continue to show high.
good luck everyone.
Message Edited by Guardian on 04-23-2008 03:03 PM
Message Edited by Guardian on 04-23-2008 03:08 PM
So for someone like myself, when I got my bankruptcy off my credit report (in 4 years) my score went from 662 to 725 but that is not to say that it will do that for everyone. I also have a 17+ year history on my report and I have no other negative items against me. The only reason it didn't go higher was that I have student loans in deferment that mess with my ratio. But 725 is nothing to sneeze at and I will take that for now over being turned down simply because my bankruptcy would show up. Even if it doesn't count against you in the score after 2 years, companies are likely to consider it just the same.
Try a few simple things to your best ability and you should be fine. 1) try as quickly as possible to rebuild your credit, 2) do not close good standing accounts, especially the longer you have had them the more they will help you, 3) don't make the mistake of using cash only as no activity will hurt you more, 4) try to get as many of the negative notations off your report as soon as possible, 5) don't use consolidation services and if you use services to remove your negative stuff be careful as they are not all the same, with a little patience you can do it yourself, 6) don't request too many credits in a short time, they will hurt you bad, especially if you are declined and even if you are not, finally) pay down as much as you can as fast as you can and keep your balances low, it takes more than 30 days for them to report your lower balance to the credit agencies and this means you ratio will continue to show high.
good luck everyone.
Message Edited by Guardian on 04-23-2008 03:03 PM
Message Edited by Guardian on 04-23-2008 03:08 PM
Thats awesome!! What freedom that is when you see that boost!! I now continuously get credit offers wherever I go.... A tip for those of you who have ever been turned down for credit in the past, yet are now being courted to take on credit.... a nicely worded rejection letter to them might assist in your amusement... "Thank you for applying with Eric.... However, at this time, I am sorry to say that I will not be accepting your offer. If you would like a list of reasons, please send a written request with your signature to the following address...."
Big fun, I promise.
I agree!
10 years was a long time, but now I "toy" with the credit offers that I receive and it is amazing to realize that these BIG credit companies will bow down to my requests
Best of luck in your credit future!