How long to improve a credit score?

[PurpleChicken]

Two situations:

I have a visa and I fall behind on payments. I then catch up and continue to use and pay the account on time. The late payments will only show for 2 years or 24 cycles.

I have a visa that I fall behind on. I pay off the balance in full but late. That can show for 7 years but generally will not effect your fico after 2 years.


Missed payments DO NOT SHOW until you are over 30 days past due. So, if the bill was DUE on the 1st and you paid it on the 20th, the company may charge a late fee but it's still does not go on your credit report.

 

[Nana2KJS]

Had credit card for umpteen years ... pay it off ... use it again.... missed one payment this spring (went over 30 days) ... made up payment PLUS ... and ALWAYS pay over the minimum anyway ... but still shows up on credit report as item of concern and going "positive" in 2016.

 

[coffeelady3]

If you want to get a free copy of your credit report you can go to annualcreditreport.com . Once a year you can visit and get reports from 'the big 3' credit reporting companies. To get your credit score they charge about $5 or so. It's a good idea to look at your report and make sure there's no mistakes...which does happen and can negatively affect your credit score.

 

[The Chicken Lady]

Yup, I found a mistake on mine at one point. My report was showing that I owed an old bank of mine $1 after I closed the account and moved to another bank. Yes, that's right. One dollar. Um, no. I called the bank in question and they checked their records and saw that the credit report was wrong. I had them write a letter for me that I sent off to the credit report companies in order to fix the error.

 

[PurpleChicken]

Quote:
If you still have the card start using it. Make 24 payments on time, even if it's $10, and the late payment will drop off.

If you don't use the card or you closed it then yes, that late payment will stay for 7 years.

 

[PurpleChicken]

Quote:
One "technique" used to dispute negative information is to write or file online a dispute, whether the info is good or not. The reporting agency then contacts the reporter for verification. If the reporter doesn't have the records or just doesn't reply than the negative info is removed from your credit. This is a technique used by many credit repair agencies.

 

[twentynine]

RSM

Way to go, in the being responsible department. Thank Goodness for people like you who live within their means.

Go to admit to you that I have no idea how the ups and downs, ins and outs of credit scores work. The one the I can comment on with experience is be very careful with your spending. Just because some one will loan you the money doesn't mean you should borrow it. I have no idea what my credit score is, I have no interest to find out what my credit score is.

When I read these threads about credit scores, I very quickly get lost in the reverse logic of the whole deal. Person 1 owes no one anything, paid everything off, lives within their means. Person 2 lives on the edge every paycheck goes to paying credit cards and bills, nothing left over. #2 will have a higher credit score than #1. I don't get it.

Fixing the roof, myself, friends and family, done mine, last year, hurricane Gustav. Saved lots of money.

 

[JeffroDull]

To the OP....


May I humbly suggest that you don't run right out and borrow more as soon as your credit score goes up. Instead, save that extra income and pay cash for your roof, etc.

The current state of the economy is a direct reflection of the attitude in the US and Canada that as soon as you have credit available, borrow against it. We've crashed once and I predict that it will happen again soon because as soon as the turnaround starts the borrowing will start again.

New job? Borrow more. Got a raise? Borrow more. Nobody saves up anymore.

I myself have been guilty of this, in a huge way. I have just finished (in June) paying down a loan that started as paying off a CC in 2004 at $8000. It was topped off a number of times and peaked at $40k 18 months ago.

Only through some serious hair pulling and self control have I been able to fight the urge to buy new stuff WITHOUT saving up the cash for it first. Along with that I've taken every raise, bonus and tax refund for nearly two years and dumped it into that loan to pay it down.

Long story longer, I am now in a position that if my career suddenly tanks I can live on a McDonalds wage without selling my house or car. I wouldn't have much fun but it beats defaulting on my mortgage.

I'm currently penny pinching (actually, banking the biweekly payments from that loan above) towards a coop and about a half a mile of fencing around my property. It will take a 8 months or so.

Just my 2 cents.....

 

[Rhett&SarahsMom]

there is no way we are going to be able to pay cash to get the roof done.
Estimate at the lowest, for the work was over 7Gs. And it really can not wait til we save that amount up. The roof should have been done when we bought the house 8 years ago.

Thanks for all the info everyone. I have a job interview Tuesday afternoon. So I am keeping my fingers crossed. I would really love this job.

 

[Chickenmaven]

Re roof: I would not suggest going through some company that puts ads on the T.V. or that puts an emphasis on getting you approved for their lender of choice. I would suggest going with a small contractor and ask to set up a payment plan, like $1,000 down and X number of payments. DH does this for our commercial properties. I used to think it was a real rinky-dinky way to do business. I would chide my DH for making us "look poor." My way of thinking was: Why ask for a favor, when you have the cash in the bank? DH thinks he is doing them a favor by bringing them his business & he deserves interest free credit. Ask! This is a possibility, especially in this cruddy economy. We have also hired contractors and have purchased goods on 90 days same as cash, through Home Depot. That is another possibility for you, perhaps.
Best of luck on your interview.