If you're looknig for zero-down financing, the middle of your three scores need to be @ 580. There are some lenders out there that will go zero down with a 560 mid score, but the terms are horrible. You may also try FHA financing, which has the possibility of zero down, and there is no credit score requirement, but you need to be clean on your pay history for the past year, and your collections other than medical need to be cleaned up as well. I've seen lenders that will do 90% financing (you have to put 10% down) with a 500 mid score. Hope this helps. Brian
Thanks for that. I am hoping to get a mortgage in a year and by then have at least a mid-600 FICO. Right now it's at 563, FAKO (Ex), but I've been making very aggressive payments. One other question: Is it even possible to raise your scores 100 or 150 points within 12 months? Maybe I am fooling myself.
Yes, it's possible, I jumoed up 100 points in a year, but it just depends on yoru situation. I have a few unpaid collections that I paid and then got removed. I also had some lates on student loans that I got them to remove. So yes, it's possible.
Hi Jim, Hi all (this is my first post). In my case, I went from a TransUnion FICO score of 615 to 712 in 12 months. (It is interesting to note that my Experian FICO is at 660 while my TU is at 712). I did not even do much at all during that 12 month period. A "debt" (more like a scam against me that I did not pay) was erased off of my record. And I did not even use my credit cards at all in that 12 month period. (Maybe TransUnion is a bit wacky compared to the other reporting agencies?) I stopped using credit cards for seven years because of the mentioned scam ordeal that I never want to go through again.... Now with being more active and using credit cards and maybe taking out a car loan and paying that off quickly, well see if that gets me in better shape for a house loan. In short, yes, I went up in 97 points very easily. And it can be done but I am sure that the ease of gaining points has a curve to it after a certain level/situation. Just one case that it happened. EDIT: to add below. ...this may be of help to you also: http://www.creditscoring.com/pages/bar.htm
revolving credit and charge off have a much bigger effect on your fico score than collections. Utilization is your other enemy. Getting rid of a default credit card/charge off/utilization killer is an excellent means of giving your score a positive bump. I got a 70 point increase for getting rid of one.
So I've got a Capital One TL that was paid in full on Aug. 18. They are reporting it through Experian as a charge off. I called them and told them it was a mistake and they said it would take up to 90 days to change. What's my best course of action? I am thinking a nutcase letter just to get them to remove it all together. Any thoughts?
So, I thought I'd give you my numbers: On EQ, I started with 543, a year later I was at 590 (+47 points) and have gained 41 points in the year since then. On EX, I started with 483, a year later I was at 590 (+107 points) and have gained 21 points since then. On TU, I started with 504, a year later I was at 623 (+119 points) and have gained 24 points since then. What's keeping my scores down: lots of new accounts, closing of some old accounts (and I haven't taken all the hits for that).
Nice work. Keep it up. I am at 634 EQ 563 EXP TU??? My goal is to be in the 700 Club by this time next year. In October I will close out two cc's, bringing my total debt payment for the year to about $8500, not includng student loans. I still have one lingering cc with about $3300 to go. I've gotten BOA Sec. with $1000, that less than 6 months old and only 20% usage. I'm also becoming an AU on my wife's AMEX.
"They are reporting it through Experian as a charge off. I called them and told them it was a mistake and they said it would take up to 90 days to change." You can dispute thru the CRA, who has only 30 days to verify it with the DF. If corrected, it may still correctly show as a charge-off, but a paid one with $0 balance.
