How Best to Repair Your Credit Score After Foreclosure, Repossession, and Default
Hi Michael, I recently decided I was going to tackle my husbands bad credit myself. Unfortunately, like so many, I do not have the best idea where to begin. Below is a breakdown of the situation I am trying to resolve as a DIY-er. Anxious to hear your thoughts.
Background: Lost job due to sudden company wide lay offs. Was the only income for our family at the time. The lay off caused a relocation, which in turn felt like starting from square one. We now have a two income household, which we hope will allow us the flexability to rebuild. Because my husband was the only one working at the time everything financed was in his name, only. We currently have everything that requires financing in my name...
Events (not in any particular order):
Forclosure of home: July 2012
Reposession of cars (2) November 2010
Credit card debt: We had 7 open revolving lines of credit, all of which are now in bad standing.
Student Loans: (2) I have recently contacted Sallie Mae and committed to a repayment plan.
Current Score: 540
Goal Score: 650
Let me know if you would like any further information. I look forward to hearing back from you. I figure there is no better time than now to at least get a game plan and start making steps in the right direction.
Is my situation far to much for the DIY-er?! Do you think we have a chance of bouncing back?!
—MelissaD
Short answer
You can often get better results repairing your own credit than by hiring someone. What it takes is patience, some money to resolve old collection accounts where that makes sense, and a bit of know how. If your report carries more negatives than positives, plan on 24 months and longer.
Key points on this page
- Negatives hit hardest when they are recent. Roughly 24 months after a negative appears, it has less impact on your score.
- Someone with one or two negatives among several positives can see fairly rapid results. Someone weighed down with more negatives than positives needs a patient perspective.
- A repossessed car is auctioned, and any shortfall becomes a deficiency balance. That balance often settles at good savings, and getting it updated to zero helps your debt to income ratio, though not the score immediately.
- Defaulted student loans limit your ability to consolidate or qualify for income based repayment. You have to bring them out of default, which usually means several on time monthly payments, often 6 or more, before the reporting improves.
- Unpaid credit cards charge off at 180 days. Setting up a plan or settling before that point limits some of the damage. If they have already charged off, resolving them now is how you start to bounce back.
- After charge off, accounts go to third party collectors or debt buyers, who may add their own entries to your report. Some are placed with attorneys, and a judgment arrives with its own fresh 7 year shelf life.
Recovering from a temporary financial setback (not that the years you endured could be called temporary), and repairing your own and your husbands credit score, is possible. You can have better results going about your own credit repair, than by hiring someone. The number one ingredient you will need is patience, a sprinkle of resources to resolve old unpaid bills in collections (when it makes sense to do so), and a dash of know how – and you are on your way to recovering your credit score. Well… at least getting to your goal of 650. First thing I want to address is the patience part.
How quickly can you repair credit on your own?
There are going to be different circumstances for each person trying to repair their credit. Someone with one or two negatives, set beside several positives, will have an easier go of repairing credit and increasing their score, and can often see fairly rapid results.
Compare that to someone whose credit report is weighed down with more negatives than positives and you need to have a patient perspective. Measured in time, that will often mean 24 months and more. And given the information you shared, that is going to be the case here.
Negatives on the credit report tend to have the heaviest impact the more recent they are. 24 months after a negative appears on your credit score – the damage is going to have less of an impact. With that in mind, I will size up your situation with some general feedback.
Repairing Credit with a Foreclosure on Your Credit Report
That foreclosure will have less of an impact starting next summer. There is not much you can do about that at this point. So using the next year to improve other areas should be the goal. If you can clean up much of the other negative reporting, you could find yourself in a position to get a new home loan approved (if you enter the market that soon) within 2 years from now.
FHA underwriting standards for home loan approval have pretty low credit scoring thresholds compared to other lending standards. But you can need 3 years separation from a foreclosure or short sale event in order to qualify.
With the new qualified mortgage rules, that will take affect at the beginning of 2014, you would need to handle all of the collection accounts and get them to reflect zero balance owed in order to improve your chances of getting approved for a home loan. This is because of the debt to income ratio that will soon be required to be met in order for loans to meet Fannie and Freddie purchasing.
That Car Repossession on Your Credit Report
The car repossessions happened nearly 3 years ago. That means the credit impacts could have lost some potency. But that would be more applicable if there were only a few negatives compared to many more positives on your husbands credit report. In other words, those 2 defaulted auto loans do not exist in a box. Dealing with those alone will not improve the credit score overall because of the other things that are weighing him down.
Auto loans that go unpaid, and cars being repossessed, result in the cars getting auctioned. More often than not, the auction price paid will be less than the loan balance that was still owed. The auction price will get subtracted from the loan balance and any amount on the loan left over is referred to as a deficiency balance.
The finance company will typically make some initial attempts to collect on the deficiency balance by making a couple collection calls, and sending a collection notice or two. But their collection efforts are often quickly turned over to outside collection agencies. The unpaid debts from repossessions are also bundled up and sold off to debt buyers.
At this stage (after 3 years), you probably will see the auto loan default and charge off, but could see other negative credit reporting from a debt collector or debt buyer. Settling the deficiency balance can often be accomplished at a pretty good savings, and the updates to the credit report that the balance owed is zero will help improve the debt to income ratio, just not the credit score immediately.
Who are the last known collectors on any deficiency balances from the repos? Are there any additional negatives on his credit report (besides the original reporting by the finance companies)?
Credit Report Showing Defaulted Student Loans
When you default on many student loans, you limit your options to consolidate them into more affordable monthly payments, or to qualify for income based repayment plans. You have to bring the loans out of default in order to again qualify for better payment options.
Similarly, you often must bring student loans current, or out of default, in order to improve how they appear on the credit report. This will often mean getting set up on payments, which you indicate you have already done, and also making several monthly payments (often 6 or more), on time.
Was there any part of your conversations with Sallie Mae that involved the benefits to credit reporting once the loans were brought out of default and timely payment being made for a certain period of time? How long have you been making the new payments you set up?
Credit Reporting and Credit Cards in Collection
Unpaid credit card bills that go 180 days without payment get charged off. If you can get a payment plan set up with the banks before that happens, or even settle the balance for less than what you owe before the accounts charge off, you can mitigate a little bit of the damage to your credit. If all 7 of the accounts have charged off already, there is little to be done about that. But you can start to bounce back from that by resolving the debts now.
Once credit cards get charged off they generally will get sent to third party debt collectors for further collection efforts, or sold off to debt buyers, who may add additional collection accounts on your credit report. Some banks (and debt buyers) place collection accounts with attorneys. This can lead to being sued. If a judgment goes against you, that fact will appear on your credit report with a whole new 7 year shelf life. That said, I have some questions about the credit card debts.
- When were the last payments made on the accounts?
- Who were the original creditors? Who is collecting on the credit cards now (if you know)?
- If the credit reports are showing the original creditors as charged off, but with a zero balance owed, it nearly always means the debts were sold. Are there any collection accounts showing up that you can tie to the original credit card banks?
- Are there any attorney collectors trying to collect on any of the accounts? If so, are any of those attorneys located in the same state as you are?
- If you were to approach your credit repair efforts by methodically and strategically resolving old debts one by one, how much can you commit from your monthly budget consistently? Can you tap any lump sum resources in order to be more aggressive with resolving the debts?
Making progress with your efforts to repair credit is going to take time, but from what you have shared, if you have credit goals with a 1 to 2 year view, and can apply resources to this, you can meet your goals. There are alternatives like bankruptcy that may make more economic sense, but I will save that for some comment feedback after you post answers to the above questions.
Anyone looking for feedback about repairing credit after experiencing a tough financial setback is welcome to post in the comments below for feedback.
About Michael BoveeMichael started CRN in 2004 with a mission to provide people in need with detailed debt and credit help and education. Michael has participated as an expert panelist in federal consumer protection rule making, collaborated on state law changes governing debt consolidation, has worked as an expert witness in court matters related to the debt relief industry. He is available to speak with you about your financial struggle and helps people resolve their debt problems daily.
Basically after years of being in situations due to family issues I have the means going froward to take care of past collections which show up on my experian report so after reading your inspiring blog posts I called all these collection people (Mostly Midland Funding) and I was able to pay off all collections except for one for roughly 50% on the dollar which I was quite happy with.
My question is now that I paid these in full so to speak and also will have a judgement satisfied and taken off the books should help my credit score go up. I know this is a bit of an open ended question and has many factors but thought would be something you can answer. Thanks again and I have to say since reading your posts it has really motivated me to get things straight and I think you are correct that doing it yourself basically yields the same results? Thanks again.
Everyone’s credit scores will improve differently after settling collection accounts. One huge variable that makes up the difference is whether you have positive credit being maintained while you were dealing with the collections. This is usually going to be home, auto and student loans, but can also be credit cards.
How many open and on time accounts do you have on your credit right now?
How many collections (no resolved) do you have?
I had 11 collections all paid off and also that included a judgement which will also be satisfied and removed. As far as current cc I really only have a debit card through my business account.
Do you have auto, home or student loans? If not, it could be a year plus before you can climb back to good or great credit, which can involve deliberate steps to improve your situation too.
what deliberate steps do you recommend.? I did open a discover card with is secured and they told me it is treated as a regular card. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.
BTW I do not have any auto, home or student loans.
Deliberate steps are some of the obvious, like paying all things on time every time, but will often also include taking out something like that Discover card you opened, buying a piece of furniture over time (one that you need, and not just to build credit), and if it make sense, even buy a used car to rebuild credit.
Many of us just need time to heal from collection accounts, because we have maintained other positive history, like a mortgage, auto, or student loan. If we have none of those things ongoing, we have to rebuild from scratch, which can mean time combined with opening accounts in a patient manner.
OK. Will keep on things and let you know the progress. My realistic goal was 12-18 months. The hard part is finding an apartment because of the credit score. They are so picky now a days especially since the mortgage crisis because so many people are renting.
Check out my article about renting with poor credit.
Mr Bovee…. could you please read the statement below that i was recently forwarded by a good friend of mine that works with lawyers that help people with credit issues. is the item about the vantage score true? the reason i ask is someone recommended to me as an alternative of using a credit repair company to write the collection agencies now that i have paid all my collections to ask to have the collection removed due to special circumstances. is that realistic?
This is good news for the consumer as the potential negative score impact from a collection account will not last forever. And, perhaps the best news, the most recent version of the VantageScore credit score does not consider collections that have a zero balance. That means once they’re paid or settled (and then updated at the credit bureaus) they will no longer be considered.
It is something that will get better over time.
Vantage Score is not widely used. FICO is used more often, and they have FICO 9 now that also does not factor paid collections. But we are talking about credit scores here. Renting a place is not always contingent on your credit score, where automated underwriting for a home loan will more readily focus on scoring (if all debts are resolved).
We are approaching a new era in credit reporting. By next year this time there should be even more developments. I would focus on the work you are doing, and ignore the siren call of credit repair companies.
I was just foreclosed on by PNC…although all signs indicated that my short sale offer was going to be accepted. Was not to be for reasons unknown. My next major concern is the deficiency that PNC will be left with. I also have a small HELOC on the property with Wells. So, two lenders that will be looking to get paid. I am seeking legal council about neogtiating my debt amount. If I owe, $100K to PNC and $50K to Wells….what is the likelihood they will work with me on reducing the amounts? Both banks see my personal finances…I cannot pay those totals….if I could, I would have kept the house. Why did they foreclose? I got divorced years ago and recently remarried and had to relocate. Keeping the home was not possible. Moreover, I have been upside down on the property as well…the house is worth about $100-150K less than what I owe, so even loing term, the house was a losing proposition. Any thoughts/feedback?
If you can meet your states means test to qualify to discharge the PNC and Wells Fargo debts completely, I would suggest chapter 7 bankruptcy as the least expensive option to deal with the situation.
If you cannot do chapter 7, call me for a consult about what settling might look like for you at 800-939-8357, ext 2.
Hey, my name is skyler. I am just a few weeks away from applying for a house loan. I now have only 1 negative item on my credit and that is a charge off on a vehicle. I have the funds to pay it but was worried that if it updated it would just hurt my aplbility to get the loan. Any comments or suggestions ?
How much is the collection balance?
I believe it’s around $600.like I said I have the ability to pay it. Just worried about it updating,
It is possible the unpaid collection from the repossession will prevent your loan approval, so paying it is likely the path to loan approval. In other words, you want the update to your credit reports even if it dropped your score a little bit temporarily.
Would you suggest I apply first before paying it ? Just to see what they have to say ?
If you are going to pay in full anyway there may not be harm in it. But if it were me, I would resolve the debt first before applying.
Michael, In June of 2010, my vehicle was repossessed. On my credit, I owe 4K as a delinquency payment. The original lender no longer has my account; it is with a law firm in South Carolina where I reside. This company has never contacted me. I am getting ready to purchase a home and my lender would like a letter from the company, stating that the account has been settled. A quick couple of questions. Am I beyond the SOL date? And should I call the law firm and try to get them to come way down on a one time pay-off? I was looking at paying a small percentage, especially if the SOL has expired. Thanks for your help.
The SOL to sue on the debt in South Carolina is 3 years. If it were me, I would be careful to negotiate everything on the phone and not submit anything in writing to the attorney. I would also consider waiting for a bit before I try to negotiate if my credit reports were already pulled to see if I qualify for the loan. See this video for more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpdDks73QUw
Settling for pennies on the dollar is not as common an occurrence as I would like to see. Who is the current debt owner (if not the original finance company), and who is the collection law firm?
Michael,
Thanks for your reply. The original lender is Ford Motor Credit Corporation. and the law firm is Clarkson Law Firm LLC out of Colombia, South Carolina. According to my lender, I need to have the car removed in order to purchase the home. I am in the final stages of purchasing the home, and this is the final hurdle I have to jump.
Michael,
I just watched the video.. So, in that scenario, I am going to have to pay the Collection company the full amount on a six year old debt. Is there anyway I can still bargain the collection company down? I was offered two typed of loans. A 100 percent loan and an FHA Loan with 3.5% out of pocket. I would need to come out of pocket 5900 dollars for the FHA. What is your advice. Should I still try to bargain with the collection company for the 4,000 or get the FHA Loan?
thanks
Todd
It was good to connect on the phone Brian. You need to resolve the debt regardless, and I hope some of what we talked over helps you. Looking forward to an update.
Recently in bankruptcy, no way around it, and then foreclosure.
Here’s my credit history: 22 years of no late payments whatsoever, One credit card, clear and clean, no debt on it. Only first mortgage, equity line of credit, and car payment, no other debts whatsoever.
After filing: One account with 2 months behind, another with 1 month behind. Car is current but listed as in bankruptcy (still making payments, going to reaffirm).
FICO score now: 521.
Why did it drop so much?
Now I need an apartment and nobody will rent to me.
Bankruptcy clobbers your credit. Then you had a foreclosure afterward that killed it the rest of the way. It is going to take time to bounce back.
I have an article up that will interest you about getting an apartment with bad credit.
I had an investment property where the lender (Bank of America) foreclosed and title transferred 8/8/12 back to FNMA. On 4/1/15 the servicing was transferred the servicing to Seterus who is still sending me statements since 4/1/15 on the exact same mortgage amount (not deficiency balance). Apparently they are not aware the property has been transferred back to FNMA at auction back in 2012 and even reporting it on my credit report as being in default with principal balance of the exact same amount. I have contacted them and they are saying they show no such thing and according to them this is a valid debt. I have contacted an attorney who advised I can possibly sue due to a FCPA (Florida Consumer Protection Act) but I really dont want to go through a long drawn out process, I just want this over with since I am trying to buy a house within the next 3-4mnths. How do I rectify this and who do i contact to get this removed/deleted/updated?
Sometimes it is necessary to file an action to get a collector to pay attention. If you have tried to resolve this with Seterus or Fannie Mae, but with no success or interest in correcting the issue, I would probably start by filing a complaint with the CFPB.
I am working to improve my credit. I am tired of avoiding the phone calls and the embarrassment of poor credit. I have 3 judgements and several accounts in collections. All these are mostly small amounts under $1000. I have one judgement for $2500 from capitol one that is going to come off my credit report in May of this year. I have some tax money that I would like to use towards paying off my debt. Should I pay off this judgement? Why haven’t’ they gone after me for this money since getting the judgment? I have worked at the same place for 20 years. If they will eventually garnish my check I would rather just pay it off but If I could use that $2500 towards other bills I would prefer to do that. Should I pay off this judgment or pay off several other small debts instead? Thanks for your help.
Some states do not allow garnishment. What state are you in?
When are the non judgment balances set to drop off your credit reports from age?
The Capital One judgment comes off in a couple months, but how long until the other judgments do, and who are those judgments with?
You do want to come up with a strategy that resolves the judgments. They are just growing with interest and will keep you from other goals like a home loan or a refinance.
What credit goals do you have immediately?
What amount of money can you set aside monthly to build up more of a debt settlement war fund?
Thank you so much for your time.
I am in Colorado. I believe Colorado allows garnishment.
I misread the date of the judgement falling off. Capital one is listed as charged off and will be removed 6-2016. The judgement isn’t removed until 5-2018. The other 2 judgements are set to come off 11-2018(cavalry portfolio $1100) and 5-2017(medicredit $1300).
Nothing else is coming off within the next 2 years. My wife has several smaller balances ($1000-$2000) that we are slowly settling.
Our goal is to buy a house in the next 2 years. I have around $5k right now and am saving 2-300 more a month. I am really confused about the judgements. I don’t understand why they haven’t’ come after me for the money. Once again thank you for your help
It is a bit odd that not one of the judgment creditors has pressed the issue with the extra ways they have available to collect.
Given the details I would suggest you stop trying to settle non judgment debt and focus on the judgments first. Circle back and tackle the others afterward.
I would look to settle all judgments at the same time (in the same weeks or month) and target roughly 50% as realistic for each. You typically will not get a home loan with unresolved judgments regardless of whether they show on your credit reports or not. But you can succeed with your credit goals with paid/satisfied judgments.
Those judgment balances have likely increased with interest. Do you know what the court granted as far as interest on each? You could need more money than you have now when you factor that in along side half off settlements.
Hello Michael,
I had a Check n Go Installment loan back in 2011 that went into default halfway through and they would not work with me to resolve. They have never contacted me. Then September 2015, without notice, a collection shows up on my credit report showing check n go as the original creditor.
I have contacted the collection company over and over asking for validation of the debt. They tell me they will mail to me and have not once received any correspondence from them. I contacted check n go, and they refer me back to the collection agency. I have disputed with the bureaus and they say they confirmed with collection agency. How can I get this removed from my credit? it appears they do not have any way of validating and they also told me they bought it from another collection agency, from whom it have never heard from.
Should I report to CFPB?
If it were me I would likely file the complaint with the CFPB. It may force them to get the documentation to further collect and report to your credit, which would not change your situation. But if they cannot, it could result in the deletion.
Hi Michael,
I am currently investigating getting an FHA loan for a property but I have had a significant decrease in credit score I don’t have a ton of overall debt but i would like to increase my score as soon as possible to change my living situation My current credit score is 559 (transunion) 569 (Equifax) via Credit Karma.
I have to two accounts in Collections
-BestBuy / CitiBank for the amount of $876.00 (which I just paid in full to Midland Funding Collections about a week ago.)
-Progressive Insurance for the amount of $161 (Credit Collections / Currently Disputing.)
There are 2 Credit cards that have closed and marked derogatory
1. Capitol One $2,271.00 (Limit 2$,000)
Payment Status: Collection / Charged Off
Last Payment: Jun 22 2015
Closed: Sept 16 2015
2. ELAN Financial Services $5648.00 (Limit $5,000)
Payment Status: Collection / Charged Off
Last Payment: Jun 22 2015
Closed: March 1st 2015
I also just paid off a Kay Jewelers Credit card in 14 months. 2 of those months having a late payment of 30-59 days late reported.
Within the last 6 months I have had 2 late car payments (30-59days) with my credit union and 1 late payment of a personal loan (30-59days.)
With Auto, Student and Credit Card debt I am looking at about 32k. I am a school teacher in New Jersey and pretty secure with my job.
What you think my best plan of action should be as far increasing my credit score?
What is a realistic time frame of obtaining a mortgage through FHA?
Thanks
I would settle the Elan debt targeting a 40% settlement or better. I would look to settle the Capital One account for 50%. You want to have any unpaid collections showing as resolved before you apply for a home loan with FHA. You do not have to pay in full, and the damage is already done to your credit, so saving money is often a priority.
Pay all of your other loans on time.
Get anything that is not accurate or complete corrected or disputed off (like what you appear to be doing with Progressive Insurance).
Ideally you want your credit score to be 620 when you apply for an FHA loan. You will want a 3 or more percent down payment. How long until you can save up to settle the 2 credit card collections? How much loner after that will you have 3% saved up for a house in your price range? That is the clock you are working under.
Hello Mr. Bovee,
I had a VA mortgage loan that was short sold. The Mortgage company I used was my credit union (Navy Federal Credit Union).
My payments were up to date prior to the sale. The VA paid the difference which was less than $61,000.00. However, on my credit report it says the account was paid in full for less than the full balance. When my credit report is being pulled it is saying, “00039 Serious Delinquency”.
I don’t think it is fair that NFCU is reporting this on me. I could understand if the VA reported the information. However, VA does not do that. Is there anything I can do to have NFCU correct this?
The loan went through NFCU and they are who would normally show up on your credit reports whether the account is in good or bad standing. The NFCU reporting in your situation is normal and reflects the short sale.
If I am misunderstanding this give me a call and lets go over the details on the phone. You can reach me at 800-939-8357, option 2.
Hey Michael,
I have participated in a section of you site regarding settling credit cards. I now settled all my cards but one. I am planning on settling it in the next month or 2 if I can. I also had 2 low limit credit cards from Capital one that I was late on but never got charged off. I paid those off so my utilization of 1500 is 0%.
My main concern now is raising my credit score and being able to apply and be accepted for credit cards. According to CreditKarma, my on time payments is at 78%, my credit card utilization is at 51% (payoff of 2 capital one cards wont be seen until next month),and derogatory marks is at 1 (the last collection I have to settled). Based off this info my credit score is showing 474.
After the utilization goes to 0% and i settle that last card, what do you think it will go up to? How can I fast track and get my score back to 600+. Should I request a limit increase on my capital one cards that I just paid off? Should I get a secured card? I’ve heard some people say they got their score up 200 points in 6 months. Is this possible, and if so, how?
Thank you for your time,
Jonathan
Getting your credit score to increase quickly will work out differently for each of us because our reports are made up of different data points. With what you shared, I do not think asking Capital One for credit limit increase will lead to any meaningful bump… not when you are paying down your credit utilization, as that leads to the same thing.
The secured card is not likely to help much, or at least not in the time you want it to. You already have open revolving accounts through CapOne. You were able to keep those open right?
How long have you had those CapOne cards?
You appear to need time, and the resolution of all debts in collection. Will 6 months lead to the 600’s for your credit score? Hard to say. Have you received your actual FICO scores or are you relying on what CreditKarma says?
Hi Michael,
I am trying to figure out how to get my credit to 620 so I can qualify for my VA mortgage.
These are my current FICO scores:
TransUnion FICO4 (says mortgage score) is 601
TransUnion FICO8 is 590
Equifax FICO5 (mortgage) is 605
Equifax FICO8 is 615
Experian FICO2 (mortgage) is 677
Experian FICO8 is 678
In Jan. 2013 I missed 2 payments on my mortgage and Wells Fargo put my house into pre-forclosure status. I tried to pay the 2 late payments but couldn’t because they added almost $5,000 of lawyer fee’s. They took all of my information to find out what options were available. I was told I could not refinance because my income was too high.
They said the only option I had was either foreclosure or a repayment plan, so I chose repayment. After completing all the paperwork, the first payment was not set until May, and the last Oct 13. I made triple payments during this time and completed the repayment.
My credit was marked as delinquent during the ENTIRE 11 month process. 8 of the months are marked as 120+ days late.
In Jul. 2014 we sold our home, not knowing our credit was ruined. Now we’re about 28 months past the last repayment and the last 6 months my credit seems like it’s just stuck where its at. From July 2015 to now, Jan. 2016 my equifax has gone from 607 to 615, TransUnion 587 to 590, and Experian 675 to 678.
I do not have any collections.
My only installment loan is my car loan, I had 2 late payments both show as 30 days late, in Dec. 2013 and Jan 2014.
I have 1 secured credit card for $2,000 that I’ve had a little over a year. No missed payments, I use it for gas and some automatic charges and pay it down to around $100 every month.
I just found out my wife is pregnant and I’m hoping we can get into a house. Being so close to the required score of 620 for VA is there anything else I can do, or is it just patience and time at this point?
Thank you,
Robert B.
Patience and time are part of nearly any credit score improvement, and it will be the case here too. But I would look to establish an unsecured credit card, and have it reporting for 6 months at least. Capital One is often one of the easier cards to get approved for with your credit profile. The rate and credit limit may not be great, but its a start.
Where do you bank?
I am retired with ssi of 1430 and pension 0f 2100, I want to get my fico score to 700, it is now at 440.
I had two bankruptcies , a foreclosure, and two repos………..what can I do…..
When were your bankruptcy filings and what type did you file?
Are any of the debts owed still unresolved or were they all rolled up into your bankruptcy?
If not rolled up in your BK, or more recent, when did you last make payments and what are the balances owed today?
Hi Michael,
I am confused about whether I should file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy or start trying to pay my debt back one account at a time. Up until November 2013, I had great credit. I was injured and disabled for a year and was unable to pay anything. All of my unsecured loans were charged off, my car was repossessed and the new balance was put on my credit. My home was almost foreclosure, but I was able to make a payment and bring it back current in the nick of time…though it still shows 12 months of late payments. I have fully recovered from being hurt overseas and I an desperate to get my credit back on track. The amounts I owe currently are below:
Repo’d vehicle : 25,000 balance after auction
Bank of America : 4979 c/o
Capital One Bank USA: 2190 c/o
Chase Bank: 2025 c/o
Discover Card: 3107 c/o
Macy’s: 270 c/0
Neighbors Federal: 2142 c/o
Pelican State Credit Union 5084 c/o
Dillards: 583 c/o
Diversified Consultants :Direct Tv 535 C/A
Portfolio Recovery Ass : 1449 (Citibank)
2 judgements (doesn’t say from who) 1016, and 2025
—November 1st 2013 were the collective dates of last payment—
I don’t know what the best route would be at this point. I am qualified for Chap 7 BK, but I dont know what would be the best option. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks –Ike
Given the amounts at issue I would start by talking with a bankruptcy attorney about chapter 7. If you learn something about chapter 7 that would prevent you from filing, I would then look at settling your debts off one by one. Call me for a consult if you want to pursue settlements at 800-939-8357, option 2 rings to me.
You may need to be prepared with 15 to 20k for the settlements (over time).
Hi Mr Bovee,
I recently filed bankruptcy chapter 7. I know that student loans are not dischargeable. After bankruptcy finalized, private student loan that previously stated charged off is now active again, same company, with payment due. I am starting to receive phone calls again to collect, but had not heard from them in over 2 years. How do I tackle this? The negative reporting has now started over. I have not received any letters or statements stating that they would like their money again. I’m in New Jersey. Can a private student loan be negotiated?
You can negotiate and settle many private student loans. You can call me at 800-939-8357, choose option 2 to ring me. I can get into the details of your situation and make some suggestions.
We are currently looking to move & sell our home / purchase a new home. However, I have a charge off on my credit report from Bank of America’s Gold Option Loan. It has been sold to Portfolio Recovery in the amount of $22K, and the date of last payment is Feb 2013. I fell victim to BOA’s scam of this consolidation loan – as they sold it to me as a 5 year consolidation loan, but that was not the case. After 7 years, the balance did not even go down! I feel into rough times and have not paid since Feb 2013. BOA originally contacted me to originate the loan via phone, and I do not remember signing anything. Is there any way to dispute this and ask for “written proof of loan”, since I do not think they will have anything signed by me? Is it beneficial to contact Portfolio Recovery to make payment arrangements since loan is so old, or will it even improve my credit score at this point? My current mortgage, car loan & credit card loans are all 100% paid on time and have been since 2013.
Thank you!
Call me for a consult at 800-939-8357, option 2 rings to me. I want to go into the details a bit more about your sale and move. There are strong reasons to be methodical about what you do towards that goal, while trying to negotiate with PRA. And no, you will not likely succeed with a dispute about this debt on your credit. Sending PRA a dispute just alerts them to your having a goal to accomplish which can impair negotiations.
I do not recommend payment plans when your goal will be to get a loan approved in the near future. Settlements are far more conducive with your situation.
$30K revolving line of credit attached to a foreclosed property from December, 2011 in Reno, Nevada.
How can I get this off my credit report? Debt appears to have been sold a few times. Have not been sued,
You may not be able to get the old HELOC off your credit, but you could get it updated to show resolved, which can often help you accomplish whatever credit or finance goal you have.
What is it you are looking to accomplish?
Who did you owe originally and who is the last known debt collector?
Dear Michael,
My name is Andy I am 61 yrs of age disabled married my wife just got a letter in the
The mail from Mandarin law group, llc that a civil case was filed in the king county Superior court where CACH LLC is the plaintiff and my wife is respondent, a date was set for a trial October 3 2016. the problem is we don’t know what debt this pertains to.. what should we do i am disabled my wife is not working at this time. How do i find out about what debt this is? She also is thinking about filing bankruptcy. please advise.. Thank you.
How much is the lawsuit for? Are there other debts she has outstanding besides this one? How much unsecured debt is their total?
Hi Michael,
I’m hoping you can help me. My husband and I are looking to buy a house early next year (January/February 2016) but I’m worried that my credit report will not pass the mortgage pre-qualification. We’ll be applying on my income only. He is self-employed but has only been at it for about a year and we’ve been told that his income won’t even qualify until he’s been doing that for at least 2 years.
That being said, I have a full time salary as well as freelance work on the side coming it at about $80k annually. I stopped paying my Chase credit card back in 2011 due to a combination or low funds and bad financial advice. I received a judgement on the account in 2013 and was making small payments to the court. In April 2013 I received a letter from the Chase legal dept saying that it was partially satisfied and instructing me to stop making payment and that they were no longer attempting to collect the debt “at this time”.
It’s now 2 years later and the charge offs recently reappeared on my credit report. My credit score dropped 30 points in 1 month! It shows “no data” for months and then all of a sudden the charge off is back. I sent a letter to the court requesting early removal of the judgement (haven’t heard back yet) and I called Chase today to see about paying the remaining balance and getting the charge off removed. No luck … he reiterated that they are not making any attempts to collect the debt and that it would not remove the charge off. He also told me that paying the balance wouldn’t necessarily improve my score or credit report.
Is there ANYTHING I can do to get the charge off removed? Is my credit score going to continue to deteriorate every month when the charge off is reported? What’s my best course of action? My score (Experian) is currently at 667 and we’re looking for about $250k mortgage. I’ve been googling like crazy but it’s all Greek to me and the advice I’ve read as far as getting information removed from my report is proving unsuccessful.
– Jenn
Actually not completely sure when the judgement was issued since I was definitely paying it for over a year before I got that letter in April 2013.
Give me a call so I can dig deeper into some details JL. You can reach me at 800-939-8357, choose option 2.
Have all the Chase account information at the ready when you call.
Did you ever get a 1099c on this account with Chase?
Thank you for your time, generosity and knowledge. It is extremely helpful and truly appreciated.