My fiancee and I are beginning to look for a mortgage, but have a few blemishes on our reports: 1.) A paid charge off from one year ago. 2.) A charge off (phone bill) from a year ago that his old employer was supposed to pay and is in the process of doing so now. 3.) I have 3 30 day lates (13-24 months). 4.) My fiancee has 1 120 day late (13-24 months) 5.) My fiancee has an electric bill charge off from 4 years ago. The questions I have are: Will the paid charge offs hurt us significantly, or will the 120 day late be the worst blemish? Will the phone bill charge off count from when it was originally late (last fall) or will it count from when it was paid (now)? Should we pay the old electric bill now, or is it too old to be concerned with? I also have a number of credit cards on my credit reports that are reported as "inactive" and haven't been used in 5 or more years. These are cards (gas, retail charge cards) that I don't even have anymore, but never actually closed. Do I need to close them to improve my credit, or is the long period of inactivity sufficient? I don't even know the card account numbers. The late payments were a result of graduate school and moving across the country when I graduated last year. We have been paying my credit cards off and on time (about $1800 per month) and should have that done soon. Are there any other suggestions for improving our credit for getting a mortgage? TIA -- Angela
