Credit Repair

This is like a geyser of questions.

I don't think employers check credit scores. Only lenders. Correct me anyone if I'm wrong.

slow dude wrote:

This is like a geyser of questions.

I don't think employers check credit scores. Only lenders. Correct me anyone if I'm wrong.

You're wrong. Consider yourself corrected.

Some employers do check credit history, especially in finance and banking. The belief is that you do not want someone handling funds/money for others (and of large amounts) if they cannot responsibly handle these things for themselves.

Quick credit repair is really not possible. I would first suggest that you determine if you still owe any money to any of these lenders or credit card companies. If so settle up and pay these balances off. It is best to work with the original creditor instead of the a debt collection firm that may have purchased the bad debt from the original creditor. Make sure that they update your bureau to show that you are paid in full. You also probably have significant deficiency balance on that repo that you you look to settle and pay.

This won't be cheap, easy, or quick. Time and making good on the bad debts will slowly improve your credit score.

Or ...... you could file BK, include all the bad debts in the BK, and then just wait until your credit report slowly repairs. But, when I was lending I always considered BKs a negative unless they were way, way in the past.

you need to get another credit card and start making regular repayment of the balance. Reestablishing a credit history is the first step in building your credit. Second, it'll take another year or two for the bad credit to drop off your report, say 6 years from the last incident. So within a couple of years you will have a higher credit score if both of these happen.

How to get a credit card with a low credit score? MBNA and some of the other companies offer a card with cash collateral. You put up a few hundred dollars and they give you a card with the same balance. Sounds stoopid but if you use the card responsibly they will up your limit st some point and give you back yur cash.

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong but a credit score of 575 isn't really that bad. I mean, it's not great but it is by no means terrible. Just keep building it up and over time it will continue to go up.

First get a copy of your credit report and see if there are any outstanding balances from old debt that has been sent to collection.

If there is, pay it off. Call up the companies and set up a payment plan if you can't pay it all off at once.

Next, see if you can get a credit card with a low credit line. Something around $1500 would be doable for score in the 600's. Don't get a credit card with a $150 limit with crazy fees. Not worth it.

You'll be fine. I raised my score from the high 400's to 700 in less than 2 years. I didn't have a ton of debt, just a lot of delinquent accounts.

This article is pretty basic, but there were some good tips - some of which I never would have guessed.

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/YourCreditRating/BuildAKillerCreditScoreIn2008.aspx

575 is not all that great. I am damn proud of my 825 though!

Best way to get your credit up is to repair it. Pay ALL your bills on time, including your utility bills and make sure you pay all your credit cards on time.

First, 575 is a low FICO score..very low. You should do whatever you can to imporve it...which DOES NOT include declaring bankruptcy. That is possibly some of the worse advice I've seen on this board in a while.

It sounds like most of the things most impacting your poor score should be coming of in the next few years, if you've been "flying straight" for the last 5 years. Credit card defaults, car repos, etc. stay on your credit report for 7 years. BK stays on your report for 10...from the date you file.

There a several credit repair firms out there that, for a fee, will contact each of your creditors, over and over, until they remove the item from your credit report. Some are more succesful than others. All of this, however, you can do on your own with some time and perservance.

If I had bad credit like you do, I wouldn't buy a house until my credit were a little better -- good enough to get the best possible mortgage rate.

Then, when I did buy a house, I'd get one that is WAY cheaper than I can afford and pay it off in 7.5 years. Just get a loan for 15 years and pay extra. You don't have to pay twice as much either -- you pay enough extra each month to cover the amount that goes toward principle.

For example, let's say you have an $1,100 a month payment (inclduing taxes) and of that only $200 a month goes toward the principle. Make an extra $200 that month. It will slowling increase each month. Eventually the extra might get too expensive for you, so to combat that either pay MORE initially than you need to for the first few years, OR just plan to be making more money. When 8 years is over you'll have better credit. Sell the house and go buy your dream home this time.

After that, once you get a loan for that house, there's no need to ever take out a loan again, and eventually your credit score will drop to zero. That's really the best of all worlds. Zero credit score should be everyone's goal. Just means you haven't paid on a loan in forever.

When people are referring to a credit score, Willey, they are referring to a FICO score. A score of zero, if there were such a thing, would be the worst possible. Scores currently range from a low of 300 to a high of 850.

I just checked my report and score. I have a score of 530, and my two outstanding debts ($1030 and $1435) are from a Bally's membership and a credit card, respectively. I am a grad student with essentially no money to pay these off right now ( I don't use the credit card anymore). I was able to get student loans just fine though. Any advice on what I should do right now? Anything?

rarr wrote:

I just checked my report and score. I have a score of 530, and my two outstanding debts ($1030 and $1435) are from a Bally's membership and a credit card, respectively. I am a grad student with essentially no money to pay these off right now ( I don't use the credit card anymore). I was able to get student loans just fine though. Any advice on what I should do right now? Anything?

Well the best thing to do would be to call the agencies in charge of those two debts and set up a payment plan. Even if you don't pay much a month, it's a good idea. If you totally cannot afford to pay anything, wait until you graduate and pay it off then.

Always keep in touch with a creditor if you're having problems making payments. In most circumstances, they will come up with a plan for payment and as long as you stick to that plan, they won't tag your credit report with a negative notation.