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40 Days And Counting: Need 2 Points For Mortgage! [binge] [credit repair]

admin — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 23:10:00 +0000

So here I am a year after my big letter writing credit repair binge, applying for a mortgage. Haven't paid a bill late now in well over 2 years. Went from something like 18 collections to 6, three of which are the same account reported 3 different ways. I had paid my cards in full for months and then got a little behind – though never late, just rolling – after losing my job last year. My scores were solidly in the middle high 600s. Not the high 700s, but the first time I pulled MyFico and saw a 683 I cried.
Now I'm going to ask some basic questions – bear with me – I knew the answers last year but have the feeling everything has changed now.
Now I am applying for an FHA mortgage. I have the down payment and am getting a nice kick back toward closing costs. The house will cost me less than rent. My problem? The scoring now has me at 614, 618 and 642 (I bought a car – and they called me back to resign the papers at 1.9%). FHA now requires a 620. All that manual underwriting stuff that let ordinary people buy houses – gone, you need the 620 or see ya. (Great example of what has changed, since a year ago I wouldn't have had to have this conversation.)
I have to get the 618 to a 620. Broker says I need 2 points. I want every point i can get, since after he pulled the report, Amex cancelled me (no reason of course) and my 2,000 credit line became a 600 balance on a closed account. I really hope that hell is full of Amex execs with itchy chicken pox who are tied to boards just out of reach of gallons of calamine lotion.
What is the express lane to those points?
2 medical collections: $100 ad $50 co pays. Don't remember if I ever bothered starting the medical dispute process with them though it worked with others. Worth disputing with the CRAs even though medical? WhyChat's process is brilliant but takes a while and I don't have time to do it properly.
One 5 year old Comcast. Never heard from the CA. Could probably lose it with a dispute. Do it online or via CRR? Or just call Comcast? Get them to give me a letter deleting it?
Then Verizon: one account, residential, but 3 reportings. At the broker's suggestion and knowing better I called Verizon. They switched me to several departments and began sending me back to the first guy within 1/2 hour, sure sign that nobody knew what they were talking about. They can't trace any information with the account numbers on the reports and I am a firm believr that if they cant verify it with what they have I don't have to help them find me with extra info. Dispute with the CRA? Online or via CRR?
The other option is to pay down my balances. If I can't make it to 30%, ill it help to get below 50%?
Will it help to get MyFicos? I don't want the broker to re-run me until he has to; we are locking me baed on the 620 and long as it is there when he pulls it again toward closing I'm good.
Thanks!

Reply:Also, check in the mortgage board about how being in a current round of disputes with credit report agencies may affect your mortgage loan process. Disputing may not be the best choice. I say pay down utilization as much as you can and check with MyFico (unless mid-score is EX) about one to two weeks after your statement(s) close see if you got your ponts.

Reply: Utilization is the way to go.
+1

Reply:Utilization is the way to go.
One other thing that I hadn't seen mentioned yet; if you start disputing stuff now you might get two potential unintended consequences: (1) losing the age of the accounts that are disputed if they go away which could hurt your score possibly, or (2) you might get reaging of an old account.

Reply: Okay, I get it, thanks! Is there a way to figure that for an auto loan, i.e., original loan amount vs. current balance?
Thanks again!
Installment and signature loans do not compute the same way as revolving credit lines do. FICO treats the types of credit you have differently. You won't get much oomph in scores from a car loan until after you've had payments reporting on it.
The absolutely fastest way to boost your score is to drop your utilization. If your revolving utilization is above 15%, get it down to 10% or less. Instant FICO boost, and will probably give you those two points you need.
If I were you, I would just hold back the guns for 6 months after you have the car loan reporting some more and you can work your utilization down to near-zero. FICO likes people who have less than 10% utilization over all their revolving accounts, including HELOCs.
Remember, revolving util. makes up >30% of your FICO score. Knocking the debt you have down to almost-nothing will get you a reward. Once you zero out an account, it takes about 4-6 weeks for the reports to update.

Reply:Okay, I get it, thanks! Is there a way to figure that for an auto loan, i.e., original loan amount vs. current balance?
Thanks again!

Reply:Total balances divided by total limits is your utilization. Say if card A has $300 on a $500 limit. Your utilization is 60%. You want it under 10% so pay the card down to $50 or less.

Reply:I'm relatively new to the repair effort – could someone tell me what is meant by getting utilities down to under 10%?
Thank you!

Reply: Out of curiosity onesize,
How can you afford to take on a mortgage when you are struggling to bring your cc debt down to 50%, 30% etc…
I would sit down for 2 hours and send dispute letters to all 3 CRA's for all the negatives. At the same time make payments and bring your utility down to below 10%. The utility down to 10% should be your first option. if you can do this, your score should jump 20-30 even more points. good luck with the house.
Didn't mean to leave the impression I'm struggling to pay off the cards. And the answer is it will cost less than renting.
I still am stuck on FHA going to scores and Amex fouling up my score.

Reply:Out of curiosity onesize,
How can you afford to take on a mortgage when you are struggling to bring your cc debt down to 50%, 30% etc…
I would sit down for 2 hours and send dispute letters to all 3 CRA's for all the negatives. At the same time make payments and bring your utility down to below 10%. The utility down to 10% should be your first option. if you can do this, your score should jump 20-30 even more points. good luck with the house.

Reply:What about your utilization? Paying it down in one month can easily add 2 points but it depends on how much you owe and how much you pay it down.

Reply:Have you tried any online 'Not Mine' disputes? Sometimes they produce pretty nice results.
Is the auto loan reporting yet? That should help your scores.

Reply:http://{$MySite}/forums/index.php?s…&hl=stryker <~~~Goodwill thread
There's another GW thread, and in it was a link to someone's GW with Verizon. Do a search on Verizon or even Verizon goodwill and see if you can find it (I've looked for 20 minutes and can't find it, LOL, and I read it like 2 hours ago!)
If you could get a GW deletion from Verizon, that *might* bump your score the two points. OTOH, it could make it fall because of the whole age of history thing.

What type of mortgage? [mortgage broker] [credit repair]

admin — Sun, 22 May 2011 15:30:00 +0000

Read and reading to find out what type of mortgage is best for me and my husband may be suitable. How do you want to find out what suits you best? You go through a mortgage broker? Please apply at different lenders? I'm so confused, as we and the process that when the time finally comes. I want all my options in the open, before such a large purchase!
We not at least looking for the next 6 months, since we are on a credit repair journey to have.

Best Answer: I am not really sure of your question..But if your asking what the difference between "A" loans and "B and C" loans are…Then it is the credit of the borrower.."A" loans usually have a little better rates and terms due the borrower proving good credit history.."B and C" loans are usually a bit more risky for the lender so they will charge the buyer a higher interest rate and perhaps less favorable terms..If you are getting a "B" loan make sure you understand the terms…OR you may regret it later..

Reply:OK, thanks again! I'm sure I'll be back w/more questions once the process get's closer!!

Reply:No it will be a hard inquiry. I do not know that you can do this yourself. You will need to find a broker or banker to do it for you
B

Reply:Thank you so much for all your knowledge and experience!! You have answered all my repetitive boring questions!!
One last, is there a certain website I can do an automated prequalify? One that won't hit as an inquiry on my reports? Just to see where I need to go from here?
Also, if my husband or I gets a raise (DH is supposed to get a $3/hr raise but we aren't holding our breath) do they allow that income as available, or does he have to wait out the year for new W-2's reporting the salary?

Reply: OK, so if that's the case, my monthly debt is only
Car $379 (will be paid in 20 more months)
CC #1 $25 minimum (Try to PIF every month though)
CC #2 $25 minimum (o balance right now)
Student loan #1 $67 ( 2 more payments and complete)
Student loan #2 ?? (Will be $6000 total but not graduating nursing school till May 2010 and won't have to pay off till 6 months after that)
so no cell bills, cable, internet or extras like that? Looks like our monthly debt is around $500. Does that make it more likely? I understand about not letting people take a mortgage out on 4x's their annual income but since I will be getting a dramatic salary increase (probably 3x's what I make now) would they be willing to work with me?
I really need to get out of the 2 bedroom house we are renting as my 10 year old son and 1 year old daughter are having a very hard time sharing a bedroom!!!
Also do mortgage lenders look at all 3 CRA's? Or do they just pick one or 2?
That will put you much closer and probably be close.
More than likely you will have to look in the 160k – 180k range to get approved but you wont know until you try. Most programs offer an automated system by which you can get an answer fairly quickly once you have applied.
Good luck
Brian

Reply:OK, so if that's the case, my monthly debt is only
Car $379 (will be paid in 20 more months)
CC #1 $25 minimum (Try to PIF every month though)
CC #2 $25 minimum (o balance right now)
Student loan #1 $67 ( 2 more payments and complete)
Student loan #2 ?? (Will be $6000 total but not graduating nursing school till May 2010 and won't have to pay off till 6 months after that)
so no cell bills, cable, internet or extras like that? Looks like our monthly debt is around $500. Does that make it more likely? I understand about not letting people take a mortgage out on 4x's their annual income but since I will be getting a dramatic salary increase (probably 3x's what I make now) would they be willing to work with me?
I really need to get out of the 2 bedroom house we are renting as my 10 year old son and 1 year old daughter are having a very hard time sharing a bedroom!!!
Also do mortgage lenders look at all 3 CRA's? Or do they just pick one or 2?

Reply:Just credit debt (minimum payments)
so Car, credit Cards, Student Loans. – Not insurance, rent (it goes away) and utilitites.
B

Reply:$50k income will get a $100-150K mortgage without stretching you too much. The days of people buying homes 4X+ their annual income are just about done since the collapse of the housing market.

Reply:So what are the exact things that count in your monthly debt?
I was including my $500 rent, car insurance, cc minimums, student loan and current utilities. (not groceries, gas or extras).

Reply:Not all are trained or know how to use the product but it is available to all to use.
Just looking at things your debt to income will be too high.
A 229k home will run you between $1600-$1800 a month with taxes and insurance.
That combined with the existing $1200 monthly debt will be more than 60% of your income
You need to get that down into the 40's to qualify. They like to see 41% but will gran exceptions with a 620 but not that big an exception.
If some of that $1200 is current housing then you may still have a chance.
B

Reply: Ask friends and family for recomendations.
You can also post up a little about your situation here and we may be able to narrow down the loan options for you.
Right now there are basically 4 loans available
FHA
VA
USDA
Conventional
FHA requires low down payment and will take lower credit scores
VA must have a VA cert. requires no down payment
USDA – both the house and the income must qualify great program if you qualify
Conventional needs better credit and only becomes a better option than FHA if you have a large down payment
Brian
Ok, so I searched around off your links and don't quite understand the USDA loan, which I think we might qualify for based on the guidelines I saw..
Our income falls in the guidelines and the area we want to purchase in says qualifies. Do we go through a regular loan officer for this too? And it looks like you only need a credit score of 620 w/no federal money charge offs.
Our #'s are:
Annual income combined income – about $50,000
monthly bills – $1200
House we are looking at – $229,000 (20,000 below appraisal)
We are in RI

Reply:We don't have one yet either, Credit…I've narrowed down our list of real estate agents and plan to ask the one we decide to go with for recommendations.

Reply:How do you go about getting a loan officer?
Is it through the realitor? Which we don't have yet either

Reply:Your loan officer will usually tell you. They'll give you the different scenarios and how much you'll pay for each. The best one is always different, not only for each individual, but on different days too.

Approved ~ Discover Motiva [credit repair] [cb]

admin — Wed, 04 May 2011 12:30:00 +0000

Now after the long, hard road to credit repair I managed for a Discover Motiva is based on my own credit file to get approved. I Discover a joint account to another owner at any time you have 3 + years, but I finally managed to 3k to my own file-based to get approved. I know some do not like to see, but they were good to me on the joint account so I wanted one of my own. Thanks go to CB for the info and know where I am today!
Stepthirteen

Best Answer: I was goning to do the same thing but one of my friends referd me to a company the offers debt negotation and lowerd my rate on two cards and got me a 75% discount on my BOA account

903-819-4980

Reply:congrats on your approval

Reply:Congrats!!! I also like Discover. My CL is on the low side, but I like the cash back promos on my More card.

Reply:Congrats, guy!!

Reply: Congrats!!! Who did they pull?
TU, thanks for the congrats.

Reply:Congrats!!
It only took me about 5 times before they finally approved me too

Reply:Congrats! I recently got approved for a Discover after having been denied by them a couple times in the past. It was nice to get that acknowledgment that my credit is finally good enough.
So far, they have been really nice to me when I've called. And I really like the ability to get those custom designs on the card — a few of them are really cute.
One thing though — if I were you, I would see about switching from Motiva to one of their other rewards programs, because if you calculate the value of the different programs, they all beat Motiva hands down.

Reply:Congrats! They're on my wish list also. Enjoy your own card!

Reply:sweet congrats!

Reply:Congrats!!! Who did they pull?