I am looking to purchase a house in the near future, so I ran the three credit reports through Equifax with Fico score, and it was 647. I have collections from a hospital bill from 3 years ago I had no idea about. My question(s) is this: If I go to the collection agency and offer to pay in full ($1400), will they delete the entry from my credit report? How do I get Equifax to update it, and how long will that take? I'd like to be in a position to buy as soon as possible, but would like to wait for my score to rise for better intereste rates. How much will my Fico rise? I only got the Exquifax Fico, and the collection wasn't even listed on TU or Experian. I dont have much other debt, just car payment, and very good history otherwise. I make appx. $75k a year, and want to move before the interest rates climb.
I was in this same situation a few years ago. During the construction of my home, an old medical bill I had failed to pay appeared on my credit report and dinged me about 35 points. Because it had just appeared, I called the CA right away. I begged, cried, went up higher on the ladder, but, I paid it with their agreement to delete. They will say they can't delete, but beg them. If they tell you no, call again and find another csr or a supervisior. They can delete these entries, and I found it was the easiest entry to have deleted because it was medical I think. It was deleted from my reports within 30 days. Good luck, don't take no for an answer.
