Hey all, So I recently pulled my TU score from their website, and it is coming in at a 602. This is a huge improvement for me (a month ago it was about 580) and the suggestions you all have given me have been a huge asset! Recently, the neighboorhood I live in (and grew up in) has become rather shady, and I am looking to get out and into a city that I love. I have found a few houses that I like, and they range from $70,000 - $150,000. I called a friend of mine at a mortgage company, and he informed me that my FICO was coming in at 519! For someone who really doesn't know there is a difference between a FICO and what I pull online, I almost fell out of my chair. So, I guess my question is, how can I improve my FICO? My situation isn't EXTREMELY important, however, I would like to have a high enough FICO to purchase a house within a year or so. I know the standard, "Pay off Debt and collections" will help, and eventually, I do want to have a score in the high 700's. But, for now, and in order to get approved for a loan as quickly as I possibly can, what steps can I take (or what should I take care of first) in order to make this a reality? Thanks again for all the help guys!
So... Just a lil update. I just went to myFico.com and pulled my Equifax FICO...524, so right around what my friend at the mortgage company told me. I cant post a picture of the info I got at the myFico site, so I'll do my best to plug in the info manually. There is a little section that says Negative Indicator? And it either has a little red flag, or the word NO. I assume that the red flag means it's reporting negatively. I will leave out all the student loans (there are a bunch) all with little red flags next to them. I assume this is something that is bringing my FICO way way down. But, here are the other accts with red flags: Gecrb/Care (care credit) Date Opened: 2/2011 Balance: 3201 Status: Bad Debt/Collection Kay Date Opened: 3/2010 Balance: 0 Status: Pays account as agreed Cap One Date Opened: 6/2010 Balance: 1129 Status: Bad Debt/Collection Amex Date Opened: 4/2002 Balance: 506 Status: Bad Debt/Collection (this account was reopened, so no chance of SOA That is it. I have a 120+ past due on a Lvnvfundg with a $744 balance, but for some reason, it isn't reporting negatively. My positive tradelines include a DTE, a Jared with a $0 balance, and my car from Kia Motors Finance with a bal of $6,496 and no late payments ever.
Removing negative items on your credit report is one way of increasing your credit score. You could also ask a family member or friend to add you as an authorized user to one of their existing credit card accounts. Just make sure the account as perfect payment history and they are able to maintain a low balance (10% or less of the credit limit). The higher the credit limit and the longer the payment history the bigger the boost will be in your credit score. Thanks! Heather with BoostMyScore.NET
Agreed w/ Heather - if there are any errors or disputes on your report (I don't see that you mentioned any), then you should remove those from your history ASAP. From there, other easy fixes you can put in motion (besides the obvious - paying down your current balances) include opening a secured credit card, since they have 100% approval (usually) and they report to the major credit bureaus (The Capital One Secured card is my recommendation). This will also hope lower your credit utilization. (Ideally, you want to get below 30%.) You might even ask issuers who you are in good standing with to erase a loan late or defaulted payment, since they on occasion are willing to work these types of things out.
Does anyone know the reason for the big stretch in FICO scores... I'm assuming the OP's score from TU he obtained for himself and the 2nd is a "true" score from a mortgage company. I also realized there maybe a few point differences between CA's but an 83 point difference? IMO there is no reason to pay for a FICO from a CA when it's going to be that far off. Also and again JMO, a consumer should be able to know his true score especially if you're trying to better your score for such a major purchase as a home.
So many different lenders use different credit scoring models. Then some of them look at all three score and then others only look at one specific one. It makes it nearly impossible for a consumer to be completely prepared. It seems that lenders and Fair Isaac Corporation like the fact that the consumers are in the dark about their credit score. Thanks! Heather at BoostMyScore.NET
Agreed w/ Heather, which is why they're not exactly falling over themselves to correct those "myths" regarding credit scores. That why it's up to us to negotiate what's real and what isn't when it comes to credit.
