I recently checked my credit score on creditreport.com and was shocked that my credit score was 587!  I contacted my realtor and she said I am may not be able to get a loan.  I am wondering if it is because of the credit inquiries and because I paid off a an old collection acct. a couple of months ago. 

I have been current will all my credit cards.  My lender mentioned rapid rescoring.  How many additional points will I be able to get with rapid rescoring?  Can I obtain enough so I would be able to qualify for the FHA loan? 

Any information would be super helpful.

Michelle

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Hi Michelle,

Paying the collection account may have hurt.  I’d contact the collection agency and advise that you will be filing a dispute with the CRA and ask that they do not respond to the CRA dispute.  If they don’t respond then the collection will be deleted from the report.

You should always pay for delete collections and never pay an old collection without a written pay for delete agreement in advance.

The rapid rescore wouldn’t help to remove the inquiries or the collection account.  A rapid rescore might help in other ways to improve the score.  For example, if there was a credit card balance that had been paid off or paid down and you could provide documentation to your mortgage loan officer of such, then he or she might be able to run rapid rescore to add a few points in a hurry.

Thanks for the questions and hope this helps.

Paul

My husband and I are in the process of buying a home and we were working with a mortgage broker who said he could raise the credit score to the mid 600s so we can qualify for a FHA loan and get a good rate. However, since he’s claimed to be working on increasing the credit score, it has gone down 10 points. I ordered a copy of my report and saw that he pulled the credit 3 different times and that there are several inquires that I didn’t authorize. I think this reduced my score. What can I do about this?

I also paid on a judgement and lien years ago but it is not reflecting on the report. I filed a dispute with the CRA.

From reading your site I became aware of rapid rescoring. Should I ask my mortgage broker to do a rapid rescoring to improve my score so we can get the loan? What do you suggest?

Mary

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Hi Mary,

It may be possible that the three inquiries are the result of one tri-merged credit report with the three bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, and conversely if they were three inquiries on the same bureau then IMO you need to find another mortgage broker.

Would a rapid rescore work?  If you had a copy of the satisfaction of judgment, you would be able to update that through a rescore. 

Read: Rapid Rescore

Thanks for the questions and hope this helps.

Paul

In trying to buy a house now I see that this same account is in collections for $2406 and it states on the credit report “Account closed at credit grantors request”. 

Can I have a judgement and a collection at the same time.  The collections date of last activity was 10/2002 

I am trying to get a rapid rescore and the rescore increase is based on me bringing that balance in collections down to $10.  I want to pay it off. No matter what, I am going to still have the judgement on my report even if satisfied what should I do. 

I am so confused.  I am trying to increase my score and satisfy the judgement at the same time. 

They have me in a catch 22 situation.

Carol

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Hi Carol,

Yes, a credit report can simultaneously list the judgment and collection. 

Get a written confirmation of (1) pay for delete with the collection agency, (2) pay the balance in full, and then (3) rescore with the collection agency’s tradeline removed. 

Thanks for the questions and hope this helps.

Paul

The lien was placed on his credit on 10/6/99 and was paid and satisfied on 12/22/99. This is still killing his credit and my question is: can it be removed??

It has been removed from efx and tu but not xpn–no coincidence that is his lowest credit score. Please advise.
 
Also, can you tell me why there are 2 efx reports pulling at the same time? What’s up with that? Thanx.
 
Matthew

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Hello Matthew,

According to Experian.com: “Potentially negative information, such as missed payments and most public record items remain on a personal credit report for 7 years, with the exception of Chapters 7, 11 and 12 bankruptcies, which remain for 10 years, and unpaid tax liens, which remain for 15 years. A paid tax lien will remain for 7 years.” (emphasis added)

I’m sure Experian will concede a tax lien paid in December 1999 should have been purged January 2007.  That’s an item that can be cured through a rapid rescore.

Your client’s two Beacon scores is the result of an Equifax split file. 

Split files can result from excessive file size and/or name variations.  If the split file was generated because of file size or from name variations (that are indeed the same person and not a mixed file) then Equifax can reconnect the two files into one file. 

Your client will need to contact Equifax directly by phone to remerge the files.  After doing so, you would run a new Equifax report and have only one Beacon.

Thanks for the questions and hope this helps.

Paul

(source= experian.com/disputes/basics/faq.html)

Keith

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Hello Keith,

I don’t have a lot to go on here, so I’ll answer this way.

Since this is a derogatory event that happened several months ago (not years ago) and it is with an original creditor, then I’ll answer: yes, paying the full balance should improve your credit score. 

Bear in mind, if you lost 100 points as a result of this, then you will only regain a percentage of those points back with the update. 

Ask HSBC for a letter stating the balance has been paid in full and then give that letter to your mortgage broker to rapid rescore.

Thanks for the questions and hope this helps.

Paul

P.S. If this is a credit card account, then look into the possibility of re-aging.

Kathy

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Hi Kathy,

The rapid rescore.

Paul

Is there such a thing as a rapid rescore for FREE?
Im a mortgage broker, and have heard its possible. What is the exact process ifi it exists at nocharge

Thank you,
WIlliam

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Hello William,

There’s no such thing as a free rapid rescore per se.  The mortgage broker will be charged for the rapid rescore.  The rapid rescore could be ‘free’ to the client if the mortgage broker elects to absorb the cost.

Another option is for the client to contact the credit bureau by phone and explain the mortgage urgency and immediate need to fix the credit reporting error.  If the client is persuasive enough, the CRA could then accomodate the borrower through the Expedited Dispute Resolution. 

William, those are my suggestions.  We definitely don’t know everything and are open to any other practical, lawful, and ethical solutions that anyone cares to submit to the blog.  So, anyone out there that has any credit repair tips that could help others is encouraged to submit them and we’ll post it on the site to empower consumers everywhere.  Until then, I’ll say this question didn’t Stump the Experts.

Thanks for the questions and hope this helps.

Paul

Anyway- my real estate agent said not to lose hope- apparently the buyer’s lender is going to try a rapid rescore.  Could you please explain how this could help if the buyer’s wife is illegally in this country?

We’re trying for another closing day on Wednesday, July 18.  I’ve cried a lot of tears over this.  We worked very hard to get this deal done and now it’s fallen apart before our eyes.  It’s a distinct possibility that we may have to scratch the whole deal, put our house back on the market, and lose the home we were going to buy.  Please advise what you think, and thank you.

Kat

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Hi Kat,

You’ve brought up a few points.  You write: “She may not be legally in the country although her husband is, and their lender is using his financial information to secure the loan”.  The answer to that is simple.  If her income/assets are not required to qualify for the loan then remove her from the loan application.  Problem solved. 

I’m only guessing here, but perhaps her income is needed to qualify for the loan.  You write: “When she and her husband applied for the loan to buy our house, she used her tax ID number instead”.  The loan officer should have been able to identify this immediately.  Both a SSN and an ITIN have nine digits, but unlike a SSN, the ITIN begins with the number ‘9’. 

Without going too far off on a tangent and politics aside, there are loan programs for ITIN borrowers.  In addition, a credit report and credit score can be established under an ITIN.  According to Experian.com: “Individual tax identification numbers (ITIN) – not employer tax identification numbers (ETIN) – are legitimate identifiers for new immigrants. The numbers take the same form as a Social Security number. When used to apply for credit, the ITIN can be added to your credit history in the SSN field, although there might be an alert added to the report indicating the ITIN is not recognized as a valid SSN.”

Unfortunately, the story seems to take a bizarre turn when rapid rescore is mentioned as a solution to the incongruous rental verification (a/k/a VOR), because a VOR (corrected or not) can’t improve FICO through a rapid rescore.  I’m only guessing here, but the LO may be attempting a rapid rescore for the husband, so that he moves up into the No Ratio or No Doc bucket and can qualify on his own.

Kat, I am thankful for your question as it further emphasizes to me the importance of the role of the LO in today’s real estate market.  As a side note, the Broken Credit Blog is currently adding loan officers and mortgage brokers from across the country to its database to serve our visitors.  For what its worth, there’s no money in it for the Broken Credit Blog.  To date, the BCB has not accepted one penny from any party or any advertiser.  Now, that’s not because people haven’t offered.  The advertising offers come in daily and some are more annoying than others.  We are looking to establish goodwill from everyone in the credit world and, in that regard, our satisfaction comes from knowing that your loans closed on time and at the same terms as were initially promised. 

Thanks for the questions and hope this helps.

Paul

(source=metromail.com/ask_max/max040704c.html)

  Today, I got call from another broker who said he could beat the 6.75 rate because he could raise my credit score dramatically in 7 days by doing something that required my SS#. Now…he offered to do this magical thing for me if I would guarantee him my business, which of course I would not. My guess is that he is talking about the optout program. Am I correct in this assumption?..as I need to bring my score back up over 620 quickly.

Debbie

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Hi Debbie,

Many mortgage brokers believe that opting-out raises a credit score.  This is simply not true.  While I strongly recommend for every consumer to opt-out, the belief that it improves a credit score is false.  According to OptOutPrescreen.com:

Does Opting-Out improve my credit score?

No, since inquiries for firm offers for credit or insurance are not used in calculating credit scores, Opting-Out does not improve your credit score.

Now that we are done telling old wives tales, let’s get into some truth.  There are two Trans Union models currently in use by the mortgage community – the 98 and 04 models.  If your middle score was the TU, then find out which TU model the mortgage broker was using.  Then, find another mortgage broker or company that uses the other TU model.  Of course, the other option to raise your credit score in a few days is the rapid rescore.

Debbie, thanks for the questions and when your mortgage broker asks where you learned this then send him back to the Broken Credit Blog for some free credit score lessons.

Paul

(source=optoutprescreen.com/faq.htm)

Because of the subprime meltdown, these days missing   several points on your credit score is enough to turn hope and dreams of that house into pure oblivion.

A case in point, I am at 677 and desperately need 680 to make Fannie MAe happy nad get a better rate. My only deragatory is a late payment over 2 years ago. What can I poosibly do in the shortest amount of time to squeeze out 3 points.

Any constructive advice would be greatly appreciated..

Sincerely,
Tina

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Hi Tina,

One possibility may be to reduce a credit card balance and have your loan officer rapid rescore that tradeline.  Of course, that’s only a guess and there are hundreds of other options.

Stay on the website and read the articles that apply in our credit score library and you will have uncovered the solution in an hour or two.

Thanks for the questions.

Paul