Newbie here and would love some help!

[mistermanager]

Hi everyone! Just joined the community after hearing great things on an number of personal finance forums. I'm trying to rebuild my credit so that I can get a good mortgage hopefully by the end of 2020. Specifically, I'd like to increase my score from 568 to above 700 -- I know that's ambitious.

 

Some positives. Several weeks ago, I paid off the remaining balance on my CC debt. I'm now in the middle of consolidating my student loan debt, which racks up to about $42K. I'll begin making monthly payments as soon as that process is complete. 

 

The not so good. The student loan debt mentioned above. I also have four collection / chargeoff accounts at Cap 1 (x2), Discover, Wells Fargo and Discover. 

 

I don't know where to start. I've recently tried applying online for a number of secured credit cards with Cap 1, Discover and Citi but have been denied due to my past issues. Are there any banks that will accept me? What are my other options? Any advice is welcome and I'm ready to do whatever it takes to reach or move closer towards my goal. For what it's worth, salary is between $100K and $120K and paying about $1.3K in rent every month.

 

Edited May 3, 2019 by mistermanager

[MarvBear]

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[hegemony]

welcome to CB!

 

to start, order hard copies of your consumer credit reports mailed to you by the four major CRAs.

 

Are the charged off accounts past the SOL for your state?

 

Hold off on applying for anything until you have a plan for the derogatory accounts.

[mistermanager]

Thanks hegemony!

 

I'll order the copies of my consumer credit reports. Mind me asking how this will help?

 

From what I've gathered, the SOL on four out of thefive  accounts with a chargoff hasn't passed. Most were paid off in the last six months. How would you suggest handling this? It looks like Cap 1 hasn't updated the status of an account that was paid off to a debt collector a couple of weeks ago -- but I'll plan to reach out to them in the next day or two.

 

Thanks again and look forward to hearing your thoughts.

[DCY030]

8 hours ago, mistermanager said:

Hi everyone! Just joined the community after hearing great things on an number of personal finance forums. I'm trying to rebuild my credit so that I can get a good mortgage hopefully by the end of 2020. Specifically, I'd like to increase my score from 568 to above 700 -- I know that's ambitious.

 

Some positives. Several weeks ago, I paid off the remaining balance on my CC debt. I'm now in the middle of consolidating my student loan debt, which racks up to about $42K. I'll begin making monthly payments as soon as that process is complete. 

 

The not so good. The student loan debt mentioned above. I also have four collection / chargeoff accounts at Cap 1 (x2), Discover, Wells Fargo and Discover. 

 

I don't know where to start. I've recently tried applying online for a number of secured credit cards with Cap 1, Discover and Citi but have been denied due to my past issues. Are there any banks that will accept me? What are my other options? Any advice is welcome and I'm ready to do whatever it takes to reach or move closer towards my goal. For what it's worth, salary is between $100K and $120K and paying about $1.3K in rent every month.

 

Any paid off CO is still a derogatory for as far as the FICO score are concerned. 

With those derogatory accounts showing up on your reports, applying randomly to issuers without any definitive strategy is just pilling up  pulls on your reports.

As Hegemony stated, before you do anything else, get hard copies of CRA. Those will help you a lot as you work along.

[mistermanager]

On 5/3/2019 at 1:48 PM, hegemony said:

welcome to CB!

 

to start, order hard copies of your consumer credit reports mailed to you by the four major CRAs.

 

Are the charged off accounts past the SOL for your state?

 

Hold off on applying for anything until you have a plan for the derogatory accounts.

Thanks again for the help. So I've just ordered copies of my credit report from Experian, Equifax, TransUnion and Innovis. Two of them will be sent by mail and the others I was able to download online. 

I've taken a detailed look at my history and know why I've been dinged. My question now is how do I start taking action. I've already paid off the balance on the derogatory accounts so what options do I have for dealing with them? And outside of those accounts, are there any steps you (or anyone at all) might recommend?

[legaleagle2012]

If you paid them off and they are marked as such, that's about all you can hope for. The time to negotiate for a PFD was BEFORE you gave them any money.  There is no statute that requires them to remove an entry unless it is not your account.  Why would you want a secured account? Most of them do nothing for your score, and you pay outrageous fees and interest for the pleasure of using your own money. You can do that with a debit card and pay little or nothing.

[Why Chat]

You can TRY to get them deleted by following the guides. As "legaleagle" said the time to negotiate was before you paid them off.

 

https://whychat.me/GUIDEBOOK.html

 

https://whychat.me/SOL PROGRAM GUIDE.html

 

The initial dispute letter MIGHT get you some results. Be sure to use the paragraph for OCs

https://whychat.me/initdispltrsol.html

[mistermanager]

On 5/6/2019 at 9:28 AM, Why Chat said:

You can TRY to get them deleted by following the guides. As "legaleagle" said the time to negotiate was before you paid them off.

 

https://whychat.me/GUIDEBOOK.html

 

https://whychat.me/SOL PROGRAM GUIDE.html

 

The initial dispute letter MIGHT get you some results. Be sure to use the paragraph for OCs

https://whychat.me/initdispltrsol.html

Is it worth disputing online? Or sending physical letters the best way to go?

[mistermanager]

On 5/6/2019 at 9:28 AM, Why Chat said:

You can TRY to get them deleted by following the guides. As "legaleagle" said the time to negotiate was before you paid them off.

 

https://whychat.me/GUIDEBOOK.html

 

https://whychat.me/SOL PROGRAM GUIDE.html

 

The initial dispute letter MIGHT get you some results. Be sure to use the paragraph for OCs

https://whychat.me/initdispltrsol.html

Is it worth disputing online? Or sending physical letters the best way to go?

[legaleagle2012]

It's a paid account. You admitted to the debt by paying it. If they are reporting them as paid, what are you going to dispute? Mortgage companies are more concerned with unpaid chargeoffs that can result in a lawsuit / garnishment, which impairs your ability to make the payments. If they want only pristine people with no negatives, they won't be writing too many mortgages.

[cv91915]

On 5/3/2019 at 11:34 AM, mistermanager said:

I'm trying to rebuild my credit so that I can get a good mortgage hopefully by the end of 2020. Specifically, I'd like to increase my score from 568 to above 700

Do you know what your mortgage FICOs are?  You have three.  

 

700 isn't a magical cutoff for a mortgage.  Find out what you actually need to get the best terms.

 

Welcome.   

 

 

[mistermanager]

On 7/6/2019 at 7:12 AM, cv91915 said:

Do you know what your mortgage FICOs are?  You have three.  

 

700 isn't a magical cutoff for a mortgage.  Find out what you actually need to get the best terms.

 

Welcome.   

 

 

My scores are around 570 currently. Not even sure what I can do to raise them as I can’t apply for credit cards. Thinking that if I get the DAs removed then that will increase. Not sure what else I can do to improve at the moment. Any suggestions greatly appreciated. 

[cv91915]

53 minutes ago, mistermanager said:

My scores are around 570 currently. Not even sure what I can do to raise them as I can’t apply for credit cards. Thinking that if I get the DAs removed then that will increase. Not sure what else I can do to improve at the moment. Any suggestions greatly appreciated. 

First step is to get physical copies of your reports mailed to you by all of the bureaus. 

 

Request the reports and spend spend a couple of hours reading the newbie section so you know how to get started once they arrive.

 

https://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?/forum/15-please-read-before-posting-newbies-start-here/

 

Edited July 7, 2019 by cv91915

[mistermanager]

1 hour ago, cv91915 said:

First step is to get physical copies of your reports mailed to you by all of the bureaus. 

 

Request the reports and spend spend a couple of hours reading the newbie section so you know how to get started once they arrive.

 

https://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?/forum/15-please-read-before-posting-newbies-start-here/

 

So I’ve done this. I have a bunch of DAs that I’m planning to dispute — starting tomorrow (all paid off). Once I do that, hoping that process will help to improve me score. Any insight for after? For instance, if they dont get removed? Or once they do?

[cv91915]

11 hours ago, mistermanager said:

So I’ve done this. I have a bunch of DAs that I’m planning to dispute — starting tomorrow (all paid off). Once I do that, hoping that process will help to improve me score. Any insight for after? For instance, if they dont get removed? Or once they do?

Your questions are too broad to provide much insight.

 

Might help if you post some info about one of the TLs you plan to dispute, explain your intended actions, and ask for feedback.

[Why Chat]

Disputing on line is a waste of time and effort and will delay your being able to use the guides I have given you.

On line and telephone disputes are routed to an automated computer system administered by off shore CSRs (customer service representatives). The guides I gave you require a live human being Stateside to READ your disputes.

 

[mistermanager]

3 hours ago, Why Chat said:

Disputing on line is a waste of time and effort and will delay your being able to use the guides I have given you.

On line and telephone disputes are routed to an automated computer system administered by off shore CSRs (customer service representatives). The guides I gave you require a live human being Stateside to READ your disputes.

 

Thanks again! Any idea how long it takes for disputes to be resolved? When might I expect accounts to be removed (if that happens) if I mail letters today? Do they notify me via mail?

[mistermanager]

3 hours ago, Why Chat said:

Disputing on line is a waste of time and effort and will delay your being able to use the guides I have given you.

On line and telephone disputes are routed to an automated computer system administered by off shore CSRs (customer service representatives). The guides I gave you require a live human being Stateside to READ your disputes.

 

Also, all of these accounts are within the SOL. Just seeing now that I shouldn't dispute them. They're only a few years old

[mistermanager]

6 hours ago, cv91915 said:

Your questions are too broad to provide much insight.

 

Might help if you post some info about one of the TLs you plan to dispute, explain your intended actions, and ask for feedback.

Thank you all again for the help. I've just reviewed hard copies of each report as I figure out a plan of action. I have 5 credit card accounts on my CR. Balance has been paid off on all of them (as of a few months ago) and all are still within SOL. My plan is submit the initial dispute letter provided by Why Chat. No telling whether or not this will make a difference, but worth a shot.  The rest of my accounts are related to student loans. I've noticed that all of them are more than six years old. SOL for my state is six years. I have two questions:

 

1) Can I write to each bureau and ask them to remove the accounts from my CR on grounds of the SOL passing?

2) Should I ask for accounts that still have a balance to be removed (older than six years)?

 

I'm making payments to a collection agency for my student loans to get them out of default in the next few months. Will this have any impact on what I'm doing with the accounts right now?

[Why Chat]

1 hour ago, mistermanager said:

Thank you all again for the help. I've just reviewed hard copies of each report as I figure out a plan of action. I have 5 credit card accounts on my CR. Balance has been paid off on all of them (as of a few months ago) and all are still within SOL. My plan is submit the initial dispute letter provided by Why Chat. No telling whether or not this will make a difference, but worth a shot. Are they reporting as "paid" collections?? If so SOL doesn't matter. If the initial dispute letter doesn't get them deleted there is a follow up letter program The rest of my accounts are related to student loans. I've noticed that all of them are more than six years old. SOL for my state is six years. I have two questions:

 

1) Can I write to each bureau and ask them to remove the accounts from my CR on grounds of the SOL passing?

2) Should I ask for accounts that still have a balance to be removed (older than six years)?

 

I'm making payments to a collection agency for my student loans to get them out of default in the next few months. Will this have any impact on what I'm doing with the accounts right now?

The initial dispute letter is all you need. It includes a reference to obsolescence (not SOL). It is probable that they will all be deleted with the initial dispute letter IF you have followed ALL the instructions in the programs FIRST

https://whychat.me/GUIDEBOOK.html

[mistermanager]

45 minutes ago, Why Chat said:

The initial dispute letter is all you need. It includes a reference to obsolescence (not SOL). It is probable that they will all be deleted with the initial dispute letter IF you have followed ALL the instructions in the programs FIRST

https://whychat.me/GUIDEBOOK.html

The credit card accounts are all marked as 'paid'. Will plan to send the initial dispute letter.

 

What about for the student accounts that have a balance and have been given to a collection agency?  currently paying them every month but the account on my CR has been marked as closed. Should I dispute those as well with the initial dispute letter? What would happen to my payments / debt? 

 

I've provided a screenshot of one of the student loan accounts as it appears in my Equifax report.

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mMoD3zZ7LGUI3axQOzA8Ow_BMsJRUJmC/view?usp=sharing

 

Thanks Why Chat.

[Why Chat]

Leave the student loan alone for now. Who are you paying?? What kind of payment arrangement did you make and with whom??

Meanwhile check with the resources here;

https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service

[mistermanager]

1 hour ago, Why Chat said:

Leave the student loan alone for now. Who are you paying?? What kind of payment arrangement did you make and with whom??

Meanwhile check with the resources here;

https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service

Thank you. There are 5 student loans that have a balance and some others that don’t. I can plan to dispute ones with no balance and leave the ones that have one as you suggested. I’m currently paying National Credit Services a modest amount that we recently agreed upon based on my expenses. If I do this for 9 months, my loans will be taken out of default. I’m two months into the arrangement. Not sure if I can negotiate having the accounts removed from my report after this period...perhaps worth asking them? Also, I’ve looked at forgiveness and may qualify but not with the loans defaulted as they currently are.

[Why Chat]

You do not understand that reporting in no way actually reflects any reality of any debt. It only indicates what is being reported by someone who may or may not have a valid claim. Once you have successfully disputed your non student loan debts (and do NOT include any medical ones in your disputes as that is a completely different program) you can focus on getting INCORRECT data about your student loans deleted. Meanwhile try to focus on the basic steps and slow down. Panic and impatience will hurt any endeavor,