[mommy2fourkids]

I hope this is the right place to post this. I'm so sorry if its not.

I'm going on 38 yrs old and we have never owned a house. I want my own so bad but our credit won't allow it. My question is, how do I go about fixing our credit? Do I just pick one creditor at a time and pay what we owe? Do I start with the lowest and work up to the bigger ones?
Thank you!

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[mommyof1beauty]

We dont have any credit - not because we have had bad credit but because we pay for things in cash therefore eliminating the need for it.

I know this is a touchy subject with many in our family, but we paid for our house in cash - we just committed to renting, saved up the $, and now we owe nothing but utilities monthly.

You dont have to have credit - the only time credit is necessary is when you're trying to obtain, and we just feel like it's not necessary to owe money to anyone. But like I said, this is touchy with many folks, most probably dont agree with us because most folks live with credit cards - they assume that the credit card will give them a discount/mileage/rewards - we just have never had to use a credit card for that reason at all.

[mommyslh]

paying down your loans by atleast 1/3 of the amt owed will help raise your score. it doesn't look good when your credit card is maxed. don't apply for any new credit cards either.

[mommy2fourkids]

Originally Posted by mommyof1beauty

We dont have any credit - not because we have had bad credit but because we pay for things in cash therefore eliminating the need for it.

I know this is a touchy subject with many in our family, but we paid for our house in cash - we just committed to renting, saved up the $, and now we owe nothing but utilities monthly.

You dont have to have credit - the only time credit is necessary is when you're trying to obtain, and we just feel like it's not necessary to owe money to anyone. But like I said, this is touchy with many folks, most probably dont agree with us because most folks live with credit cards - they assume that the credit card will give them a discount/mileage/rewards - we just have never had to use a credit card for that reason at all.

Thank you. We don't have any credit cards either. Hubby says if we can't pay cash we don't need it. But we have had one income in the last 16 years and really got in a big mess. Dr. bills, car repo'd, bankruptcy, etc... I have a medical problem and raising 4 kids that keeps me from working. Thank goodness I started couponing a year ago. It has helped tremendously. Thanks

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[mommy2fourkids]

Originally Posted by willowtree2003

Sounds like Dave Ramsey!! I commend you for this, many people don't have the will power to do it!
It's well worth not having the debt!
Kudos!!

@op
You need to write out every bill/debt and start there. Once you know what you owe you can make changes to start getting out of debt and therefore changing your credit.
It's a hard process but with coupon using you are already using your money more wisely!!

Thanks! I started to write out everything but I get so overwhelmed. I guess I need to go a little slower

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[mommy2fourkids]

Originally Posted by willowtree2003

I also recommend reading Dave Ramsey info on the snowball effect!!
You can get free worksheets and info online

I have heard about Dave Ramsey but never gave it a thought to read anything. Will be doing that now.

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[mommy2fourkids]

Originally Posted by 2vette2camaro

Here is what you need to do

(1) Get ALL of your credit reports- yours and his and you NEED to know your score, that way you will know when your score increases.

(2) When you get the credit reports, go over each creditor and make sure that ALL the information is correct- if not, then dispute it (it will tell you how- on line or thought the mail)

(3) For ANYTHING that is negative, write them, dispute it or do whatever you need to do.

(4) If you need to start BUILDING credit- apply for a JcPenny's card or gas card, make a few small purchases and get a payment history going.

From personal experience of not having ANY credit when I first bought my home, to not having any credit until about 10 years ago, I have worked my credit to now I have EXCELLENT credit. I check my reports at LEAST once a year, I get my credit score from a bank, and I dispute or send in evidence of ANYTHING not correct- Yes, it is a lot of work but TOTALLY worth it. If you can pay cash for a house, then that is totally awesome. But around here, I am moving into a $250,000 house for a loan of $120,000, and I'm sorry but I don't have $120,000.00 cash to be able to just pay for it. We are in poverty stricken Arkansas and that may not be IMPOSSIBLE, but when we only make $25,000.00 a year, it would be really rare unless you got some sort of inheritance or lawsuit settlement (of which we have not)..........Anyways.....If you want to know your credit scores FREE, call the bank And apply for a loan- that's what my husband and I did.

He has horrible if not NO credit. We figured he had a score of say 300. In June we applied for a home loan and got both our scores- his score was almost 700!!!!! With only one creditor on his report- he is a mechanic so he has had an account with Snap- On for years, always paid on time. Anyway, also on the report was a lien, of which he had paid OFF 15 years ago but the courthouse never sent in the paperwork to get it removed- so we went and got that piece of paper and sent it to all the credit bureaus. When we applied for a home loan a couple weeks ago, his score is NOW almost an 800! Same as mine and I have been working my credit for the last 17 years (with the home mortgage and all) and have between 25-30 credit cards on file and constantly checking my credit, etc.
YoU NEED TO KNOW YOUR CREDIT SCORES !

ALSO, it is my mission to let people know that they CAN get a house- an RD Guarantee loan lets you in with 0 down, 102% financing and NO PMI and FmHA or RD loan lets you get a house with the above AND your payment is based on your income but can never go over so much and you don't have to have any credit to get this loan- just a few references.

Thank you so much! Great advice. The RD loan sounds interesting. Can I pm you if I have questions after I take a look at the info? Thanks again!

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[eduardomachadostudio]

go and read a lot on the www.creditboards.com I was in the low 400... now I'm in 780 club

all in 1 year or less.... there are techniques and legal ways to do it yourself for almost no money

[Z and G's Mom]

It's very important that you continue to pay all of your bills on time. If you can, pay over the amount due - try to round up to the next $10 mark (if your monthly payment is $125, round up to $130) - ESPECIALLY those with the higher interest rate. Do not ignore one bill to pay another off faster. That will do more harm to your credit rating. Three years ago, my DH and I combined three credit cards (all with over 10% interest) into a line of credit at our credit union that only had 7.75% interest. The savings we saw from changing that over immediately went into paying off our 4th card that much faster. Today we have one card we use on a regular basis for larger purchases and ALWAYS look for deals with no interest for 6 months, etc Everything else is totally paid off. Also, do not close any of your cards after you pay them off. It looks better to have credit available to you that you don't owe anything on then to have a bunch of closed cards on your credit report.

HTH.

[DarkRayne24]

Id love more information on the rd guarantee loan. I've googled alittle, but I'd like more of a first person, been there type information. thanks

[Msomers75]

My husband and I just bought our first home. He was previously married with a spouse that destroyed his credit when he was deployed overseas, he left her POA and she was able to open massive credit cards in his name... Well, 2 years of hard work and he has a great credit score now.

We worked with a lender who showed me how to go about clearing things up. Get a copy of your/his credit report. Start with the lowest debt.. Pay it off. Your credit report will go from highest to lowest amt which will be the last page. Pay as much as possible within a 4 month period. Then submit a copy of all paid creditors to each credit reporting agency. There is 3! And after 2 weeks, call to make sure they have gotten the info and it has been removed. Also, the larger debts.. Say you owe 5,000 for the repo of a car, most debtors will take a smaller payment of 1200 for that 5000 debt and call it a settlement. They will show the debt was satisfied. Even if you didn't pay the 5,000. Our lender told me to always negotiate with the debt.. Most all of them will give and all you need is a letter showing it was paid to satisfy the credit report. My credit was fine, it was my hubby's and with a VA loan he was the one who needed the credit score. He went from a 450ish to a 720 in a little less then 2 years. It is hard but well worth the pay off, since he is the main income of our family. We still don't have any credit cards or such, I believe if you can't pay in cash then you don't need it. We did get a gas card during the rebuilding of his credit and would charge 2 tanks of fuel per month with a pay off when the bill came in. I cut the card up after the house loan approval. I wish you luck in buying a home! Right now is a buyers dream, so don't waste time!

[DarkRayne24]

Thank u so much, I'm gonna have to really talk to my husband about this! If this all works out and we get into a home, ur gonna be my guardian angel!

[mommy2fourkids]

Thanks to everyone that gave me excellent advice!!!
I did call about the RD loan. I will be on a 6-8 month waiting list. They are waiting for more money to come in. I'm new than happy to wait

Thanks again!

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[mommy2fourkids]

Originally Posted by 2vette2camaro

You must have inquired about a different loan- the RD Guarantee Loan does not depend on money they have on hand. Might need to look into it again

Hmm...I wonder what they were talking about then. I will call again What exactly do I call it when I call? RD loan? Thanks again!!

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[tumadre]

Go to creditinfocenter.com and they have a wealth of information! I was able to clean up a big mess.

[mommy2fourkids]

Originally Posted by tumadre

Go to creditinfocenter.com and they have a wealth of information! I was able to clean up a big mess.

Thank you!

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