Hi Folks,
I hope everyone is going well. My credit score is sitting in the mid 600s like a loaf of stale bread. This is DESPITE one year of on time mortgage and auto payments.
Soo… if I want the fico to go up, I have to sell my soul, I mean, I have to get a credit card or two.
Does anyone have a recommendation for a credit card? I have no other debts besides my home and auto loans.
Thanks.
I think its a good idea to get a credit card if you don;t have any. I’ve had Capital One and they’ve been pretty good about lowering rates ( when I call and ask). Yould also keep inmind that your score won’t change a great deal in one year. It depends on what’s holding your score down. If you have some recent delinquencies/ bankrupty etc… It may take a few years to get your score in the mid 700’s. Don’t take on too much revolving debt. You won’t need more than $1000 limit to make a good impact without getting in to trouble.
You say you only have ONE year of on time mortgage and auto payments. Does this mean that you had late pays more than one year ago? Or, does this mean that you have no credit history prior to one year ago?
If the answer to either question is yes, then the solution is time. Your credit score will improve dramatically once you have two years of on-time payment history.
If the answer to both questions is no, then there is something else in your credit file that is holding down your score. Are you applying for a new mortgage loan every month, or inquiring about home equity loans every time you get an offer in the mail? If so, then each inquiry that results in having your credit report pulled is a hit on your FICO score.
If this does not apply to you, then there is some information in your credit report that maybe should not be there. It is not uncommon to have errors in a credit history. Maybe some derogatory information belonging to someone else is in your credit file. Order a free copy of your credit report from www.annualcreditreport.com and check it out.
Oh no… I meant to imply that I’ve had my auto loan and mortgage for 1 year (eff 06/07) with 12+ ontime payments, but the score had not increased despite the positive reporting.
I applied for, and got, a home depot card. I have not signed the agreement or activated the card as yet.
Maybe I should wait it out another year - instead of getting a credit card - and during that time my score will increase and i can accumulate more cash for deals.
I’ll check for anvils on my credit report. Thanks.
You have to actually use the card in order to show you can make pmts. :shocked. Just use a small amount and pay it off each month. Don’t use more than 25% of the limit. You can even charge $50, then pay it off each month. Then it will show up as a low revolving balance and on time pmts.
Another thing you can do is deposit some money into CD’s at a few local banks. For instance, go to 3 local banks and purchase $500 - $1000 CD’s. Then ask to take out a secured personal loan for 1 year using the CD as collateral. Put the loan in your checking account and DON’T TOUCH IT. Use the loan proceeds to pay back the loan Do this at each bank. After 1 year, you’ll have 3 loans paid off in good standing. You’ll also begin a relationship with local banks for possible future investing. Good luck.
Thanks. I think I like the idea of the CD loans better. I hadn’t used the card yet because I wanted to see whether there were better cards out there - while keeping this one as my ace in the hole.
I was going to apply for a visa/mc and do the charge the gas and pay it off routine.
The Cd/loan concept sounds terrific. My question is how would they show up on the credit report/score? As a revolving debt or an installment loan?
If it is a revolving debt, then as far as the credit score goes, it will make no distinction between credit card and bank loan. However, if it is indeed listed as an installment then that’s a pretty good idea along with building a relationship.
A personal loan is an installment loan. Its the same as a car loan, student loan, etc… because there’s no available credit.
Why is getting a credit card selling your soul? As long as you practice self control there’s nothing wrong with it. You can use someone elses money for a month for free and get something for it. I use mine for lots of things, sometimes up to about a $1000/month and I havn’t paid a penny in interest for years b/c I keep in within my budget. Then I get the occasional free flight out of it. I’m their worst customer and they love me!
Plus in an emergency it can save your butt, not to mention the ability to contest a charge. I rented a vacation house for a weekend, paid the deposit with a credit card. Then weeks later when the owner was giving excuses for not giving it back, I just called the card co. and I got it credited back real quick. If I had written him a check I’d still be battling him.
OK, then are you saying that you have no credit history prior to one year ago? If so, then just keep making ontime payments for another year. Once you have at least two years of good credit history, your credit score will dramatically improve. Acquiring a credit card will not really help that much any sooner, but it won’t hurt
I applied for, and got, a home depot card. I have not signed the agreement or activated the card as yet.
Can a Home Depot card be used anywhere else besides Home Depot? Can you use it to buy gas or groceries? If the answer is no, then I suggest you get one of the four major universal cards – Discover, MasterCard, Visa, American Express. Many of these cards offer reward programs that pay you reward points or give you cash back. I like the cash back rewards the best. You get the reward for everything you purchase with the card, and, your use is not restricted to a single store.
I have the same bias against department store cards and gas company credit cards. The department stores and gas stations all take one or more of the four major credit cards, so why not use a card that pays you back for everything you buy?
Yeah, I get all of that. HD was an "instant " decision, and I wanted to test the waters. I also know that HD gives a lot of creditlimit increases, so it’s possible to have a nice line availalble for repairs etc.
Thanks Everyone.