I have recently starting repairing my credit and I am slowly but surely learning some interesting facts and seeing some progress. Even after a lot of research and reading threads on here, I do have a couple of questions for my situation. Any advice or information available would be greatly appreciated! WARNING - this is somewhat long and I ask for forgiveness ahead of time... The good thing - I owe less than $2000. The bad thing - they are all collection accounts and I don't have anything positive to counteract the negative. The biggest amounts are all for medical bills. I've heard that medical bills don't affect your credit the same way that credit cards or utility bills do - is this true and what's the difference? Second question - which accounts should I pay off first (oldest to newest or visa versa)? I've sent pay for delete letters out for the smallest accounts to the two CA's and hopefully I will hear back from them soon. Third question - I want to apply for a secured credit card to build up my credit and put something positive on there, but I've found both good and bad info about that. One article said to pay everything off before applying for new credit because it shows that you are fulfilling your obligations and not pushing them aside; the other article said that credit is based off recent activity and that a recent positive account is great to have and will jump your credit score in little time. Also, what is the average credit score needed to qualify for a secured credit card? Fourth - I have financed vehicles in the past, although they have all been through in-house financing at small dealerships. Is there any way to report those accounts to the credit bureaus? My payments were always made on time and in full. The dealership does not report to the CRA's. Fifth - My husband has a car repossession and it will hit the 7 year mark in March of '09. The bank that he had the loan with sold the account to a CA in March '08. Can the new CA report it for another 7 years since it is a new account on his credit report? Also, can you refer me to a link for a good letter to send out to the bank to remove the account from his credit report once the 7 year mark has been reached? Last question - What is the next best thing to do once all of my debt is paid off? My husband and I want to purchase a home in 7-9 months from now and I want to make sure that we can qualify and not get a high interest rate. If it makes a difference, he is ex-Army and we plan on using his VA. Thanks so much for reading through all of this and I look forward to hearing back from anyone that is willing! Thanks again and Happy Thanksgiving!
1.They affect the same neg. 2.Pay the newest first. 3.A secured credit card is your money you send money they send you a card. 4.You might try to get a letter to verify the account was in good standing. 5.You could let it fall off,or dispute it as old. 6.You should get a better loan at the end of 2009.If i'm not mistaken va don't go by score. good luck and happy thanksgiving.
Before you pay anything off, make sure you get validation. Are the debts still in statute? That affects how you approach them. The CA can't LEGALLY report for another seven years. But sometimes they reage to make it look newer. That's one of the things you'll dispute. I think the VA has a minimum score, not sure what it is. It's probably changed recently, anyway. But I believe you can't have any UNPAID chargeoffs.
Yes, all of them range from 06 to 07. I previously sent dispute letters to all of them and a couple were deleted and the ones that I am paying off were all validated. So, should I try to get the secured card now or wait until all accounts are paid off - 2 months from now? Thanks for the feedback. It will help with moving forward.
I would apply for the secured card now. That will give you a few more months reporting before you apply for the mortgage.
1) Paying them off will not necessarily increase your scores and VA loans do not consider medical debts older than one year. In fact, paying them off may re-age the date of last activity and bring your scores down even lower. Keep disputing them through the credit reporting agencies. However, you have to know what data fields to target. 2) See paragraph one. I wouldn't advise paying them unless they agree to delete it. 3) What you've read is somewhat misguided. One, it will be a secured card which is brand new. New accounts less than six months don't generally accrue positive points. In fact, it can lower your overall history and thereby, your scores. See if a friend or relative will add you to an older card with good utilization as an authorized user. If not, companies such as Apex Credit Services, LLC offer this service. Be diligent when dealing with these companies but, the AU methodology would significantly raise your scores considering you have no positive accounts. 4) No, entities must have a subscription to report to the credit reporting agencies. 5) Legally, no. In the real world, the debt purchaser may. They should report the accounts date of last activity as the day it went 30 days past due with the original creditor and was never brought current. What they typically due is not report it or report it as the date the bought it plus mark the pay status as 120 days past due. This can be rectified with the right approach. Don't contact the original creditor when the time comes. Dispute it through the credit reporting agencies as obsolete. 6) Delete as much as possible and get on some accounts as an authorized user. A 580 will still get you in the door with VA or FHA. However, you're looking at a 9% 30 yr. fixed with about 20% down. A 620 gets about a 7.5 with at least 3.25 down. A 660 and above, a 6.25 and 3.25. A 740 and above, around a 5.75 and the same down. In you case, it shouldn't be that hard to get to a 660 mid-score.
THANKS! This info is realy helpful. Hopefully I will hear back from all the CA's soon and I'll be able to determine my next steps. One last question: is there anyway to get inquiries removed before the two year mark? I think that is also making a bit of an impact. Thanks again. This site is a diamond in the rough.
Just call Equifax and ask for the permissible purpose. Trans Union is a fifty-fifty proposition. Forget about Experian.
So, one of the CA's I sent a pay for delete letter to sent me a response saying that the debt is valid and that I needed to call them. I called them yesterday and spoke to a nice agent that told me I could pay it in full and they would delete it from all three reports, although they do not have anything in writing to send to me. Is it enough proof if I record the conversation? He said that the offer to pay and have it deleted from my report will expire on Friday. Thoughts?
If it's recorded maybe however you would have to get them to say who they are and who they work for.I would have them fax you a answer or write a letter.By the way their not nice you just told them you would pay.
Paying Off Debt Hello everyone, Always make sure you get something in writing when paying items off. I have seen many many times that when you pay a negative item it updates to paid negative item, which does not help at all. Paying by check is also helpful.
I agree with greg.now they have your banking info,they can also wash your check and put in there own amount.
Cashiers check Yes sorry not to clarify. Also anything you can get in writing saying they will remove it from your bureaus once paid is also very helpful.
I'd love for them to do that to me, when I had not given any authorization for electronic withdrawal. I could retire.
