OK, here's my situation. My wife and I are trying to buy our first home. I knew my credit wasn't great, due to a past credit card, but I did not think it was as bad as it was. My current Trans Union score is 588. the only bad marks that show up are past due several times on the credit card in 2009-2010, Several past dues on a personal loan from 2011-12, which that loan has been paid off since April, and A $264 outstanding medical bill from 2011. I spoke with a local mortgage rep, and she said not to touch the medical bill, that at this point, it's best to just leave it alone. She said to pay my balance down on my credit card to less than 25% of the limit, easy. Now... she suggested, that I ask my local bank that granted me the loan that was late to write a letter stating that those payments were reported in error. No go. What I got was a relatively vague letter not declaring fault to either party. Soo.. This account has a $0 balance. I cannot pay off $0. so what can I do to raise my score??? I also currently have an auto loan in good standing, never been a day late.
Re: First time poster. trying to repair mild credit issues. Trying to buy a home. HEL Welcome to Creditnet! The late pays are real FICO score killers, especially the recent ones in the past few years. Unfortunately, the reality is you may not be able to do anything about them until they start to age more and have less of an effect on your overall credit. Is there anything incorrect regarding the late pays that you could dispute through the CRAs? If so, dispute away and hope that they magically get deleted. Who knows...you could get lucky. Is the outstanding medical bill still with the medical provider, or has it been turned over to a collection agency? Also, other than the one credit card and auto loan that are currently active and in good standing, what else are you doing to build positive payment history?
Re: First time poster. trying to repair mild credit issues. Trying to buy a home. HEL There are different ways to increase your credit score. You could add positive history to your credit report by adding an authorized user account. You could ask a family member or friend that you can trust to add you as an authorized user to one of their existing credit card accounts. The credit cards must have perfect payment history and they must be able to maintain a low balance (10% or less of the credit limit). The higher the credit limit and the longer the payment history of the card the bigger the boost in your credit score will be. Thanks! Heather with BoostMyScore.NET
