that, thankfully, all had a solid payment history. (Closing 2 of them on 6/14/05 and sockdrawering the oldest one for a bit longer.)I was also dealing with the notorious CAMCO (which has now been shut down!--I know picantel from CB was cheering the loudest when that happened) who had purchased some chargeoff credit accounts that were 15-20 years old (well past the SOL) and numerous obsolete accounts reporting that were sticking like super glue. I had a few medical collections from a time where I'd been without health insurance, but those dropped off easily thanks to HIPAA letters, and have paid those off.) I also had $40,000+ in student loans. Some were in the rehabilitation process when I came to CB, and some were still in default.
In less than two months, I had clean EX and EQ reports, and only the CAMCO notation left on TU. What happened? I read posts by the hour, sometimes sleeping just a few hours a night. As I read, I began to have confidence in the advice offered by others, referred to the letters database, asked for questions and advice, learned to stay off the phone (thanks pryan for teaching me to stay off the phone, which in turn lowered my stress level when medical bill collectors tried to call) and learned soooo much along the way.
By Nov. '04, I'd secured Union Plus MC, Corvette VISA, DCU VISA and Patelco VISA cards and had increased my credit availability tenfold, which of course lowered my overall utilization and helped to raise my scores. I let those accounts age for the past six months and am now in the process of buying my first home.
Honestly, a year ago, I never thought it would be possible, but look at my scores now! I'm a single parent who earns less than half of the area median income for the area I live in (median=$74,000 for a household of 4 here), and I'm still able to buy my first home in one of the top 100 school districts in the country! The only money I've put down is $1,000 in earnest money and my scores have allowed me to be able to roll the closing costs of $5,000 into the mortgage and still have the appraisal come back in an acceptable range.
In 18 days, I will have achieved the American dream, sans the white picket fence.
My kids will continue to get an excellent education, and I'll build equity Thanks to the credit I've acquired, will have the cushion of new cards in case I ever have an emergency such as needing a new furnace, or a hot water heater. While I'd love to use the cards to buy new furniture, I've learned not to live beyond my means.It seems surreal that I went from atrocious credit to great credit in 10 months and will have the pleasure of decorating my own home! While I've been haunting the Mortgage Boards more than the Credit Boards lately, I'll definitely stay active, as I now volunteer teach a 12-hour class, Building Credit 101 (free classes, open to all) in my community, and have committed to teaching the every month for the next year. I continue to learn from others experiences every day, and thank all of you for the time, effort and money you spend on the boards. On that note, I think a donation to CB will be in order VERY soon.
While we've all heard it before, CB rocks!
Its great to hear storys like yours! I have started slowly but next week am ready to go into full gear and get all my baddies cleared up. Im so happy for you and your family, what a great mommy you are!!!!!!!
(made me cry) 
