General Credit Questions/Debt Settlement
Date: Sat, 09/25/2010 - 08:03
Hello, first off, I am fairly new to the forums and want to say thank you for all the general information that you have provided to me.
To begin, I am 24 with a credit score of 550. Most of my bad debts came from when I was in college when I was 18/19. There would be random credit card representatives throughout campus having you sign up for a credit card to receive a free t-shirt (when you're in college, free is good)....long story short, I ended up having credit cards that I could not pay for, bills that went unpaid, & having to have co-signers throughout my young adulthood.
I check my credit often (through www.quizzle.com) & dispute a couple of collections every 6 months or so. I had a credit score of 480 this time last year, and although it has taken about a year of disputing, constant watch on my credit, it has since then climbed to 550.
A majority of the collections on my credit are from 2007. I understand that these fall off between 5-6 years..my question to you all is...if I want to buy a house, or even lease an apartment (my fiance & i have been denied twice, we had to go through craigslist to a private leaser to live where we are at now)...what is the quickest way to get my score up? We are getting married in December, I'd like to buy a house...I have 3 accounts in good standing (auto loans) and like 19 collections from 2007...should I wait until they fall off & open a secured card, hire someone like Lexington Law, continue to dispute random charges & wait for them to be deleted, or claim bankruptcy? (this is my last resort).
I'd hate to claim bankruptcy at such a young age, considering that doesn't fall off for what, 7-8 years? I want to get my life together financially, I have a good paying job (so does my fiance)....so at this point, what do you all suggest w/ collections that old? Any/all comments/concerns are appreciated.
Thank you for your time.
To begin, I am 24 with a credit score of 550. Most of my bad debts came from when I was in college when I was 18/19. There would be random credit card representatives throughout campus having you sign up for a credit card to receive a free t-shirt (when you're in college, free is good)....long story short, I ended up having credit cards that I could not pay for, bills that went unpaid, & having to have co-signers throughout my young adulthood.
I check my credit often (through www.quizzle.com) & dispute a couple of collections every 6 months or so. I had a credit score of 480 this time last year, and although it has taken about a year of disputing, constant watch on my credit, it has since then climbed to 550.
A majority of the collections on my credit are from 2007. I understand that these fall off between 5-6 years..my question to you all is...if I want to buy a house, or even lease an apartment (my fiance & i have been denied twice, we had to go through craigslist to a private leaser to live where we are at now)...what is the quickest way to get my score up? We are getting married in December, I'd like to buy a house...I have 3 accounts in good standing (auto loans) and like 19 collections from 2007...should I wait until they fall off & open a secured card, hire someone like Lexington Law, continue to dispute random charges & wait for them to be deleted, or claim bankruptcy? (this is my last resort).
I'd hate to claim bankruptcy at such a young age, considering that doesn't fall off for what, 7-8 years? I want to get my life together financially, I have a good paying job (so does my fiance)....so at this point, what do you all suggest w/ collections that old? Any/all comments/concerns are appreciated.
Thank you for your time.
EDIT: I just saw there was a credit repair forum as well....not
EDIT: I just saw there was a credit repair forum as well....not sure if this is in the right spot, but please feel free to move this to the appropriate forum. Sorry :(
