Repo question and a general credit rating question too!?

Question

Okay, this is a little complicated. My fiance and I are about to get married and want to buy a house, among other things. Basically, we're trying to get his credit rating higher, because in his younger days he was a little careless with his credit. He had a repo which he has just paid off, and some other debts which he has either already paid off or is about to have paid off.

My question is regarding his credit rating. I'm getting conflicting information about wether or not a repo is removed from bad standing in a credit report once it is paid off in full like we have done.

Like for instance, he has paid off his one credit card, yet it still remains in bad standing, even though it is paid and up-to-date. (he missed one payment last year, 30 days late)

How can we get his credit rating up to snuff to buy things like our first home? Will this repo stay on his credit for 7 years, or will it be removed?

This is all so confusing, I wish it were easier to understand :(

I am so worried this will affect us from being able to buy our first home... I know we can just show them it is paid off, but we're hoping for a lower interest rate on the home loan.

Oh, and by the way, it was a voluntary repo, but they had to come get the car because it wasn't working, so I'm not sure how it would be shown... it's not listed as an i9 or anything, just as an account in bad standing listed as a repo. Hope this helps!

While I appreciate the answers regarding debt consolidation, my real question is in regards to the repo and its affects on his credit after being paid off. We would like to know if it is going to go away or will it take 7 years? Thanks!

Answer 1

Everyone can check their credit report once per year with each credit agency at www.annualcreditreport.com. Do this and go through it with a fine tooth comb. Contact any companies with outstanding debt or with accounts that have been closed to clean up your credit report. The FICO score is based on this report.

Answer 2

The bottom line is that the repo will stay on his credit report for 7 years minimum, maybe longer. There is no legal way of getting it off the credit report. Here are two very simple ways to build his credit back up. One. Add him as an authorized user on any credit card you have with a good pay history. Two. Have him go to his bank and get a couple of secured credit cards. In two months, he will start to receive offers from dept stores. Apply for them. Most will be approved. Use them to charge $15 to $25 per month. payoff in full at the end of the month. In six months, he will have a ton of good credit. As far as a house goes, anybody can get a mortgage, as long as you put down enough money and agree to pay a high rate. But you can refinance in 18 months and move on. BUT, you must be careful to NOT be even 30 days late on any new credit. Good luck.

Answer 3

Keep all receipts that show that the debits have been paid off, keep all credit cards paid up to date and with 75% of thier limit, call the credit card company and ask them why they are still reporting bad credit on his bureau when his account is up to date, you may have to be a bit firm while talking to them but let them know that they are impairing you to buy a home. If you have all the receipts showing the debt has been paid you should have not problem. also don't go around and shop your rate to try and get the best one as every inquiry on your bureau could make the beacon score drop and of course same don't apply for more credit cards and they pull a bureau as well.

Answer 4

A repo, voluntary or not is a repo. Sorry. Did they get a judgment? In any case, it's 7 years from the last activity (payment) before it comes off your report. Build new credit, make regular payments without carrying much of a balance (<50% of the high used amount). Learn about what's in a credit score at myfico.com under "learn". Mortgage lenders are hungry and creative with "rescoring". I see there's already mortgage feedback. Good luck.

Answer 5

What a lot of people don't realize is that you can challenge the 'current status' of your accounts. Let's say he was late last year, yet it still reports as '30 days late'. That is incorrect. It should say 'pays as agreed' and you can challenge that.

Also, revolving charge accounts are highly weighted in FICO scoring. At the very least he will need a secured credit card to start building his credit again. Even if you have had problems in the past, you need to start showing lenders that you are responsible. So open up one or two new accounts and pay them on time.

Answer 6

Man I have heard of this so much. Bottom line people are too casual about their bills and credit. Your boyfriend messed up and now you may have to pay the price by being disallowed credit based on his lack of responsibility in the past. You may however qualify if your parents are willing to cosign for you or his. This is a good way to speed up your credit rating recovery. Talk to a good banker. Stay away from the finance companies that charge high rates of interest.

good luck Lets

Answer 7

Hi,

Well the best thing you guys can do is continue to make your payments on time and WAIT.Your Fiance's credit rating would eventually increase if he does this. I think that repo would stay on his credit report for up to 7 years unfortunately. I advise you to get in contact with the Credit Bureaus and they'll be able to assist you.

Answer 8

Bad credit is one of the worst problems to have... however there exists a solution.

I will hereby talk from my personal experience.

I did debt consolidation a couple of years ago, however If I had to do it again I would pay to some minor details,
if someone wants to get out of debt today it is pretty easy with a debt consolidation plan, however it may get a bit tricky at times, I suggest you get as much information as possible online on this first,

a good place to start in my humble opinion is astraight to the point ebook with question and answer I found :

http://umgarticles.atspace.com/debt-consolidation.htm

if it helps kindly remember me in your voting!.. cheers!

Answer 9

The answers you have received to this are all excellent answers. And over time they will all work for you very well. However, if you are needing to get your score up quickly, you may want to consider a credit restoration. In order to help you understand it better and make good choices on a legitimate credit restoration company, I will post an article I wrote in my blog that tells you ten ways to determine the legit credit restoration companies from the scams.

From my blog:

The TRUTH about Credit Repair: Aren't They All Scams or Illegal?

This topic is a really hot one right now. People are falling victim to so many scam artists out there who are taking people's money and offering false hope. There ARE legitimate credit restoration companies out there. But that is the key right there; restoration versus repair. Generally speaking, credit repair is a scam and credit restoration is legit. Does this mean all credit repair offers are scams and all credit restoration offers are legit? NO! It is up to you to do the research. If you can't do the bare minimum to protect yourself, then don't come crying to me if you are taken for all of your money. But, to help you determine the scams from the legits, here are 10 tips on how to tell the difference:

1: If they advertise that they will repair your credit in anything less than 18 months, you are not dealing with a legal company. The LAW requires that any credit restoration agency cannot advertise or represent that they can restore or repair your credit in less than 18 months. (Remember this number, it is going to come up again later.)

2: Check on how long the company has been in business. If they have been around for more than 10 years, you are probably dealing with a reputable company. (Honestly, there are really only three that are recognised as legitimate in the United States.) In a future article I will discuss them in more detail.

3: Do your due dilligence. Check with the BBB. The BBB will provide an unbiased report of how many complaints have been filed against the company in the previous three years. There are two things that you want to consider here. First, if there are more than a dozen complaints over the previous three year period, then this company has serious issues and you should be concerned. Also, if the BBB has no file at all on the business, just walk away from the business. Anyone who is hiding from the BBB should be looked upon with suspicion.

4: Ask for pricing when talking to one of their reps. If they hem and haw about what they charge, or say that it depends on how much they have to remove from your report, they are hiding something from you. A good rule of thumb, if the rep is unwilling to answer any question of yours up front and with honesty, you are not dealing with a legitimate company. This does not mean that if the rep states that they will answer the question in a moment, that they are hiding something. It just means that they are getting there and just need to lay a little groundwork first. Remember, reps are all salespersons. They are there to sell you their service. This is good, believe it or not. This encourages competition in the business and keeps costs down. (Which reminds me: DON'T PAY MORE THAN $1000 PER PERSON FOR THE SERVICE.)

5: Ask if the company is licensed, bonded and insurred. Ask for proof. If they will not show you their business license (which can only be obtained AFTER they have purchased their bond and insurance) this should raise alarm bells.

6: Ask for examples of successes the company has had. A legitimate company will have copies of investigation results (with personal information blacked out of course) that will show you how successful they can be.

7: How long are they going to work for you? Yes, that's right, remember that these companies work FOR you. If they are just going to maintain a business relationship with you for the length of time it takes to repair your credit, beware. What often happens in these cases is that after the company has cleared negative information from your credit report they sever their relationship with you and a couple of months later the information returns to your credit report. Now what are you going to do? Your options are to leave the negative information and suffer for 7-10 years or hire someone, again, to remove the information, again. A reputable company will stay with you for the FULL 18 months (I told you this number would come up again). This allows them to continuously monitor your credit reports and remove any negative that may re-insert itself after the initial sanitizing.

8: What other services do they offer? If they are a legitimate company, they will have rescources that will help you to re-establish yourself in the financial world. Things like the ability to help obtain a debit card even if you can't open a checking or savings account. (Yes, believe it or not, it can be done!) Can you call their credit advisors any time for advice? Is legal representation available if you have to go to court against the credit reporting agencies? ASK! If the company is letgitimate, they will have a team of lawyers that will handle these kinds of legal matters for the duration of your contract.

9: Does their contract advise you of your rights? If not, why? Because they don't know the laws! And if they don't know the laws that are designed to protect you, how can you expect them to know the complexities of the Fair Credit Reporting Act which has 340 different laws?

10: Is there a money back guarantee? In this business refunds are usually prorated. In other words, if you have 50 negative things on your reports and they can only have 30 removed, you are refunded 40% of your money since they were able to get 60% of the information removed. If there is no money back offer, run away! A company that has faith in their services will offer to refund the money if they can't do the work.

I hope this information helps people out there who are confused about credit restoration programs.

If you have any questions about credit issues or concerns or just want to know who I think is the best credit restoration company out there, you may email me at [e-mail]

Answer 10

it will stay on his credit report until the statue of limitations is up.