I have learned lots since finding this site months ago. Thank you to all that contribute to the wonderful information on this site. Here goes with my first post! Background: I am looking to increase my fico scores over the next 6 months in order to obtain a new construction loan. My current scores range from 540to 600. Middle score is around 570. My hope is to achieve a 650 middle score to get a decent loan. Twelve months ago they ranged from 470 to 540. I have been actively trying to improve my scores with disputing the negative items on my files for the last yr and have had modest success. My question is what should I focus on in the next few months in order to hit my target score of 650? My file was/still is rather ugly. Many collection accounts that are all over 2 yrs old (medical bills). Charge offs and late pays all over two yrs old (had a rough time a few yrs ago.). I have three new credit cards that are 6 months old, no balance, low limits. I only one cc left over from the good ole days with a balance of 1,500 which i plan on paying off in the next few weeks. My financial situation today is 1000% better than a few yrs ago. My balance to limit ratio is reported at 50% because of the one remaining cc, it will be next to zero soon. I am now looking into AU accounts with family members that would help me out. My sister has actually added me to several of her accounts about 4 wks ago but they have not shown up on my files yet. Beside paying my bills on time and staying the course that I am currently on ... can anything else be done? Is it realistic to achieve 650 in 6 months with what I am doing? I qualify with my income and assets for a nice sized loan but do not yet have the credit. Thanks in advance for any input. (ps. sorry for the long post)
Do you still have any outstanding unpaid collection accounts? If you have any remaining medical bills, have you verified that they are correct, and that any insurance adjustments have been correctly applied, insurance claims have been correctly filed, paid, and credited. I.e.: any amounts due match your EOBs.
Yes, I have many unpaid medical collections on my reports. They are mainly on two reports with only a few on the third. They are so old I have no idea if the reported amounts are correct. My plan was to let them age and eventually fall off my reports. I disputed some of them but with no luck. I thought I read that with reports such as mine, to raise my scores I should make sure my utilization is low and try to add good trade lines to offset the bad ones. I have been disputing on line and havent had much luck lately. I have 6 months or so to hit my goal and want to make sure I am spending my time wisely. Thanks for the help!
I think you will need to have a solid savings history and nice size down payment along with a decent fico, even having that you might pay a higher rate until your score improves more and then you could refinanced to get a better rate keeping in mind some companies will want you to keep the mortgage with them for a set period of time usually 2-3 years (watch the fine print).
I have a good savings history with a fair amount in savings and investments. I am not concerned with my assets just my credit score is very bad right now and I am afraid it wont be high enough for a decent loan in the short time. If I can get a semi decent loan to start, I will refinance after my credit improves. On paper I have good income and assets, just bad credit score. Thanks for the help!
