Will 6 months of paying on time and trying to remove negatives myself do anything to help my scores, or does it take much longer than that usually? I know it's all a case-by-case thing, but in general is all I'm asking. I'm sure it certainly can't hurt!
RE: New here and want to fix m Thats what a lot of us here do. For some of the hard stuff you may need to hire someone but alot you can do yourself. This board is great. Use the search engine and you can getlots of useful info. everyone seems to be real helpful with any ? u may have. good luck.
Great Name. Anyway, generally it will take more than 6 months. That is probably not the answer you wanted to hear. But it is the truth. It will take you at least 3 months to see some real changes in all 3 credit reports by deleting. It you get by without at least one of the big 3 stalling you, you are truly blessed. It also depends on your delinquencies. BK's, public records etc will take a even longer to see an increase. I think that Jim and I are proof that a public record causes a hugh score drop and that a bk will hinder you while you are building in the score department. I think the golden rule is 24 months. After 24 months your score will rise (as long as you haven't bk'd). I say that from information I have been compiling from responses on this board. Also, 12 months is enough time to see improvement as long as they are great ones, like getting cards with high limits and not going over 30% of available credit. Those are some of my ideas. roni
Thanks Roni No BK's, no public records (if I know what the means). Slow pays, medical collections are basically it, and at or above credit limits. If I paid them WAY down, or off would that help in under a year?? At least help the numbers a little? Or at least show improvement to someone evaluating more than just numbers??
RE: Thanks Roni Mom, having your balances at/near limits is a credit killer, debt ratios I believe make about 35% of your score. You should try to get these down, this will be an effective way to improve your scores. I know easier said then done at times, but I would work on getting those down, most say under 30% of your limit, but if you can't go down that far then try for under 50%. Mom
Let me clarify I was speaking of balances on open/current accounts. Accounts that have gone to collection are a lost cause as far as your score is concerned. Getting them deleted or waiting about 2-3 years is the only thing that will help you bounce back in the score department. PAID collections are no better than unpaid collections as far as credit scoring is concerned. However, Paid collections will help you get better credit, which is a way to also improve your score. Here is an example, before my collections were 0 balanced and paid, not even Providian would help me. My collections were for about $30K (defaulted student loans). So that balance was killing me. Once they were paid I started getting credit. Also, once they were 1.5 years old, I got Chase and Citibank with high limits( I had no new negatives in that time). So, I cannot actually say paid collections are useless. They make it easier in some cases to get new credit. Just understand, paying your medical collections does not apply to the 30% balance rule. roni
