Hey everybody, I started another thread last year seeking advice on how to improve my score. Thread here: http://consumers.creditnet.com/Discussions/credit-talk/t-always-validate-debt-71411.html. Thanks to everyone's help, I was able to improve my score from around 520 to a 631 in February of this year. I spoke to a mortgage lender and was able to pre-qualify for a home loan. The threshold to secure a USDA loan is a 640 score, but my lender was comfortable pre-approving me due to the fact I was only 9 points away and I had a balance of over %50 on one of my secured cards, which we both thought when paid off, would put me well above 640. Well, after checking my score a month or so back, my middle score (the one used to qualify for the loan) dropped to 612. Very discouraging. I believe the reason it dropped was due to too many credit inquiries as well as an item in dispute that came out and negatively affected my score. Freecreditreport.com now shoes my score as a 629, which may or may not be an accurate representation of what my true score is. To make a long story somewhat shorter, I'm looking for any and all advice on how to boost my score ASAP. I have paid off all of my outstanding debt aside from one account, which I will pay off this week. I have been added as an AU on several cards, and have 2 secured cards of my own. The balance on my auto loan is at $600 from $1000. Not really sure how to proceed from here. I recently made an offer on 2 different houses which I have a legitimate shot at landing, and one will be expected to close within 45 days, so I'm obviously pressed for time. Any advice would be appreciated.
The fastest way to boost your credit score is to add yourself as an authorized user to an existing credit card account. You can ask a family member or friend to add you to one of their cards. Just make sure the cards have a perfect payment history and the cardholder can maintain a low balance (10% or less of the credit limit). If you don't have a family member or friend that can help you, you can always purchase authorized user accounts online just make you do a lot of reach on the company that you purchase them from. Thanks! Heather with BoostMyScore.NET
I might wait to put in offers on houses until you know you can qualify. Add a couple authorized user accounts and then go house shopping. If for some reason the cards don't show up on the first reporting cycle you will have to wait until next month. You don't want to be in the middle a loan process and find out you don't qualify. Thanks! Heather with BoostMyScore.NET
I wouldn't pay too much attention to the freecreditreport.com score. It's not a true representation of where your current FICO scores are. Anyway, what's your current credit utilization ratio? Are you keeping it around 10% or less?
Ya, I figured as much about freecreditreport. I won a bid on a home yesterday, but I'm reserving excitement until I know whether or not I'm going to qualify. I'm working closely with my lender's credit expert and we're going to do something called a rapid rescore once I pay off my Capital One account. My credit utilization is right around 10%, and it looks like I've done just about everything I can to position myself to get approved. Whether or not that happens is probably out of my hands at this point. I'll keep you guys up to date. Thanks
Good news! After paying off my final two debts, my middle score is now a 650 and high enough for me to qualify. So barring something unexpected, it looks like I'll have my first house at the end of the month. Thanks everyone for all your help. Hopefully my story can serve as motivation for those with poor credit and dreams of home ownership. Take care.
Congratulations! You didn't any have to use authorized user accounts to get you to the qualify score. Awesome Job! Thanks! Heather with BoostMyScore.NET
