Credit Journey End - House - Long

Discussion in 'Credit Talk' started by Jim, Aug 4, 2002.

  1. Jim

    Jim Well-Known Member

    I will begin by thanking the board for the credit information I have obtained here. Learned by accident when a student at the University where I teach left this website up on the computer monitor in the fall of 2000. I checked out Creditnet and have been here ever since. As Jim really is my first name, I began posting as "Jim" without realizing that other Jim's were or had been on the board. In retrospect, I should have picked a more unique name.
    Anyway...

    At the end of June, I closed escrow on my home in Southern California. As my 15 year fixed credit union loan was over the $300,000 limit for the best rate, my loan is at 5.91%. Anything under $300,000 would have gotten me .4 or .5% reduction. Those are simply the credit union rules. I did put 20% down on the house and the credit union did not discriminate against me due to the Chap 7 BK that I discharged in February 1999.

    I was treated like any other customer. The concerns that the Credit Union had were:

    The 20% down payment
    No credit problems since 1998
    My year 2000 and 2001 tax returns.
    Occupation
    Assets
    Insignificant credit card debt
    No installment debt. I paid off my 4 year Ford loan 8 months early.

    The Credit Union did verify my BK and made me write them a letter explaining what happened back in 1998. I expected this as they did the same thing when they gave me a prime credit card early in my credit recovery. They did not ask to see my discharge paperwork. This was a relief as...

    My EX, EQ and TU true scores were in the 700's. TU was actually high 700's. If they had seen the discharge, they would have noticed that a lot of negative info on the discharge is missing from the credit reports.

    I had one brief difficult moment with my escrow. My credit reports were pulled at the close of escrow ( standard procedure) and low and behold my discharged AMEX account showed up on all 3 reports under a new account number. Also, the public record of the BK that had never made it into my EX and TU files was now showing after all these years. The public record of my BK was not showing on EQ as I had previously gotten it deleted and I suspect that once it is suppressed, it is unlikely to come back. However, I cannot say that for sure and for all I know it may come back.

    I met personally with the loan rep the day this happened. My scores still remained over 700 in each case but had dropped 20-25 points. I offered to increase the down payment by using retirement funds if necessary. The loan rep and I went over my file and she said that it would not be necessary to increase the down payment. The loan was funded. I have been living in my house for 5 weeks now. I have made my first house payment. 179 to go.

    Overall, I am a lucky man. Junum had managed to get my home foreclosure from 1998 deleted. So there was no mention of it when I bought the new home. Junum and I deleted a lot of other BK related items. While I was rebuilding credit, I got 27 inquiries removed (26 were EX). Today, I have all prime credit cards. A paid off Ford Explorer. I own a home in a nice neighborhood. All due to the tactics I aquired here on the board.

    So this should be my last thread on the board. However, while you may not hear much from me in the future, I may stop by the board on occasion. Three additional years have just been added to my BK sentence ( was 7 / now 10). I don't know if the Credit Union did this to me or if AMEX did it. But let's just say that C.H.O.D. is arriving in December and I will be busy challenging my credit reports where possible.

    Best regards,

    Jim
     
  2. LKH

    LKH Well-Known Member

    Jim,

    Congrats on a job well done and your new home. It was hard work as I well know. However, I am very disappointed that you feel you no longer need to post here. You and I have hashed this over before. I also am no longer in repair and am also looking for a home. But I will continue to be here every day and I maintain that your experiences throughout your cleanup period will benefit many and that is why you need to continue posting.

    Should you still decide to be done here, I again say congrats and be well.
     
  3. Manequinne

    Manequinne Well-Known Member

    I would hate for anyone with any type of experience to leave this board.

    What would happen if everyone who was finished with their repair, or frustrated left this board? There would be no one left to help us who need it.

    Even thought I wish you luck, please stay.
     
  4. Jim

    Jim Well-Known Member

    Thanks LKH and Mannequine

    I have appreciated your credit friendship here.

    My wording was not the best. When something of interest comes up, I will post. I am just a semi retired creditnet member.

    Congrats again on your AMEX card LKH. Aren't they sneaky though to change account numbers? Who else would have thought of that. I still haven't decided how best to dispute AMEX yet. When I do it will be at C.H.O.D.

    Best regards,

    Jim
     
  5. Nave

    Nave Well-Known Member

    JIM!!!
    Congratulations on your new home. We are very proud of you!

    You are a lucky man, and we are lucky you have been here to help us, with information and moral support.

    I sincerely hope this will NOT be your last thead. You will get home sick for us even in your new glorious house.

    Way 2 Go Man. You are an inspiration to everyone starting out on their journey.

    -Peace, Dave
     
  6. Jim

    Jim Well-Known Member

    Thanks Nave,

    For your support, and of course your brilliant idea (C.H.O.D.) When the holidays roll around you will have to update the new people here about it. It certainly worked for me last year. I am going to wait to do any disputing until C.H.O.D. this year.

    Now that I am collecting my thoughts here...

    I chose to use the Credit Union as lender in part because they use their own BK scoring system. This favored me. A mortgage broker was telling me to expect a rate up to 2 points higher due to my damaged credit. Also, their fees are very low.

    Keep in mind that Credit Unions are somewhat unsophisticated. So when I asked whether soft inquiries (Marie) had anything to do with credit scoring for a mortgage, the loan rep told me that she did not understand the question. Therefore, I dropped the soft inquiry topic that has been debated here on the board.

    On another topic, I also found out that FHA and VA only penalize you if it has been less than 2 years since a BK. The trouble is that in pricey Southern CA, the FHA and VA loan limits are very low when compared to the price of housing.

    In my opinion, someone with a BK will get the best rates from FHA, VA or CU. But there is a loan for everyone out there. It's just the terms that vary.

    Best regards,

    Jim
     
  7. SweetnSas

    SweetnSas Well-Known Member

    GOOOOO JIM!

    I wish I had been as lucky as you with my foreclosure...but you rock!

    Congrats!
     
  8. kerry

    kerry Well-Known Member

    Nice work. We'll get there too.
     
  9. clc18940

    clc18940 Well-Known Member

    Jim,
    I echo others by saying that you should consider graduating from credit student to credit repair teacher. I know the growth of this board is phenomenal and it will need all the experienced people it can get. I hope you will consider checking in at least once a week and see if you can help other people out.

    I know our lives can get busy...mine certainly is right now as I am applying to law school for fall 2003...but giving is part of what makes me happy...so I don't consider the hour or so a nite a burdensome task...if I can help just one person a week that is enough payment for the time I spend reading the posts and replying to the ones where I might be able to make a difference.

    Enjoy your new home in good health...and consider staying on as a creditnetter "emeritus".

    clc
     

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