My score is low from a past history of late payments here and there....some of them 90 days. This happened after my wallet was stolen and I decided to payoff all my balances to zero. Then I got my replacement cards in the mail and did not use them. Great right? No I knew I had paid the balances so ignored my "bills" turns out I had somehow signed up for "Credit Guard" and by the time I noticed the auto debit of $6.95 per month on three cards, I had 90 day past dues. I've tried to get these dropped etc from my history, but there was a lapse in time and I was pretty much ignored, so I think it will weight down my score until it drops off Summer 2014! Whoo hoo...another year to go. I'm looking for any other ideas to push up my scores as I am trying to get a mortgage - my lender tells me my FICO is actually 674. I had one disputed $43 collection with Verizon from 4 years ago - Im just sending the $43 today to see if that helps. No other collection type items. I have a zero balance on one card and 20% balance on another - any way to get points from that ? I want to qualify for a 90% mortgage, but I am far from a 720.
If you are ready to purchase your home and you are only waiting for your credit score to move up to a 720. You can boost your credit with authorized user accounts. Ask a family member or trusted friend to add you as an authorized user to one of their existing credit card accounts. Just make sure they have perfect payment history (no 30 day lates) and they can maintain a low balance (10% or less of the credit limit). The longer the payment history and the higher the credit limit on the card the bigger the boost will be in your credit score. Thanks! Heather with BoostMyScore.NET
Mystian - Depending on what your timetable is to purchase a new home, it might be worthwhile to consider applying for a new credit card your available credit line even further. Keep it active - make a couple purchases every month and pay it off in full to keep your credit utilization ratio low. You might actually lose a couple points initially, but if you're 6 to 12 months from loan approval you should see a gradual increase in your credit score. I would even make multiple payments each month just to beef up your payments history. FICO's most important factors when determining your score are payments history and your credit utilization ratio - the amounts you owe in relation to your total available credit. Adding a credit card could improve both over time, just remember that the gains won't be immediate.
If you add a seasoned tradeline like an authorized user account you will see results after the tradeline reports. You will benefit from the owners payment history and credit limit. Thanks! Heather with BoostMyScore.NET
