And my Journey Begins...

Question

thomasjm99 wrote:
NormanFH wrote:
thomasjm99 wrote:
Wow...  Didn't really realize how long it had been since I updated here... Quite a bit has happened! I'm only left with 3 or 4 of the above baddies as of now and my FAKO scores have climbed from the low 500's up to 580 - 590  range. So I'm happy about that for sure. Within the last week I applied for and was approved for a Fingerhut Account ($500), and a C1 Quicksilver One Card ($300). I also have a secured Mastercard with a $500 CL . The last few CA's are proving tough to deal with and I don't think they are going to fall off any time soon (I won't give up though!!)...  So I decided since my scores were creeping up to the 600 mark I should start rebuilding with new credit as you can see above. I'm very curious what kind of ceilings my score might see with these 3 or 4 baddies staying active? I know each credit profile is different, but I have seen some folks get as high as 660 - 680 even though they still have some CA's or other derogs reporting. This has been quite a challenge and definitely takes some perservance and close monitoring. It's still awesome to see the progress every one else is making, so ya'll keep it up!!Even with numerous derogs, as long as you keep up on everything, as those derogs age and you build current credit, its possible to hit 700 in about 2 years or so.Would this hold true even if the derogs are reporting on a monthly basis? Honestly could not say for sure - but if I had to geuss I would say probably not. The baddies I have left are with places notorious for not doing any PFD or GW removal. (CapOne, LVNV, First Premier)...  Should I just bite the bullet and pay these so at a minimum they stop reporting and as they age it will improve my score slowly? DoFD on all of them is throughout 2013 so they won't age off until 2020. Most of the experienced people will say yeah, if they are updating, bite the bullet so they can age. On another note, how much new, positive credit is enough? I have Fingerhut, 2 CapOne CC's and a Secured CC as well...  Obviously on time payments and CLI's will help over time...  I don't really want to go adding store cards (via SCT) for the sake of having more postiive TL's, but I will do it if it will help. My short term goal is to do whatever I can to get my scores close to 650ish so I can look at refinancing my current auto loan, or at a minimum getting a new auto loan and rolling negative equity into it so I can get rid of this 20% interest rate auto loan I currently have... It depends on how many negative accounts you have - the rule of thumb here is that you want more positive accounts than negative accounts (aside from collections). Thanks again to the community for all the help, and Happy Fathers Day to all the Dads out there! 

Answer 1

thomasjm99 wrote:
Hey everyone!!!  I thought I would essentially start my credit rebuilding process with somewhat of a journal so to speak (as many others have done here, reading the stories and the progress is very inspirational!)...   I actually began doing this over a year ago when some life circumstances got in the way.  The only positive thing I managed to get done was completely rehabbing my defaulted SL's.  Now I have an account in good standing with Great Lakes.  I want to detail out all of baddies here and the actions I plan on taking so those of you with more experience and guidance can correct me if I'm headed in the wrong direction.  Be warned... I have a lot of garbage to take care of!!! First...  The Good: Auto Loan with Santander in good standing since 7/2013 - Would like to refi this when my score is better.  IR is awful currentlySL's with Great Lakes in good standing since 8/2014 Now THE BAD: Capital One Auto Finance:  Charged Off from a Repo in 2/2013.  Owed: $6,000 - Will attempt a PFD then a GW with OCCapital One  CC:  Charged Off.  Owed: $600 - No CA is on record - How can I proceed?Credit One Bank CC:  Charged Off - Have a CA with LVNV for this.  Owed: $1,300 - Will attempt a PFD then a GW with OCChase CC:  Charged Off.  I was only an AU on this account and I am trying to have this deleted via dispute, otherwise I will attempt a GWUSDOE Direct Loans:  I have 3 separate accounts for my SL's.  Each of these show as closed but have LPs recorded.  My SL with Great Lakes shows positive history dating back to the beginning of this account so I am trying to have these removed via dispute.  If that fails, then I will GW since my SL's are rehabbed and in good standing. Anyone have experience with this?First Premier CC: Charged Off.  Owed: $300 -  No CA is on record - How can I proceed?Credit Collection Services:  CA for an insurance bill.  Owe: $337 - PFDSecurity Collection Services: CA for a closed checking account.  Owe: $750 - PFDCashCall: This is currently 90 days late, but will be PIF this month.  Will GW to have lates removed once PIF completeDiversified Consultants: CA for ATT bill.  Signed for account for a family member and they failed to pay.  Owe: $275 - PFD As you can see I have a lot of work ahead of me.  Are any of the actions in red above the incorrect path to take?  Obviously I can't tackle them all at once, but am wondering if I should attack the smaller ones first just to work the negative TL's off my report?  I am hoping I may be able to rebuild to the point that I can get a smallish ($5k or so) installment loan at some point to help pay off the largest amounts above.   From reading about other folks journey's I know this process is a slow one that requires patience.  Good thing currently is that I have all of my CR's in hand and think I know what actions to take.  The last SW I received from myFICO had my Equifax score at 529 around 8/2014.  I will do a full score pull sometime before the end of the year so I have an official starting point.   It's strange to say but I'm actually excited to get this moving.  Wish me luck, and thanks in advance to all those who provide support and answer questions around here.  You are all awesome!!!          CapOne Auto: I would offer PFD. Worst case we be to settle in full for less. They like to sue.
CapOne CC: Offer PFD.First Premeir: Offer PFD. They are tough to deal with. I paid them in full and they deleted. However they never would agree to.Looks like you have a good plan for the other baddies. I would suggest that you start rebuilding with a few credit cards. Maybe start with a secured one. Good Luck