How long does it take for your credit score to improve after you pay off old debt?

Question

I have several old accounts in collections and I want to know if I pay them off how long will it take for my credit score to improve enough to be considered for a home loan. Any ideas?

Answer 1

This works for collection accounts only and not original creditors. Send them a pay for delete letter offering a settlement amount. If the agency agrees they will respond acknowledging the agreement. Be careful to pay attention to the wording of their response. If it reads something like “we will update your account to read paid in full” – don’t accept & send out a follow up letter requesting a full deletion.

Your Fico score will increase by 40 - 100 depending on the # of collections found on your report - if deleted. If you have already paid the collection accounts...dispute the accounts off your report anyway.




Example
Collection Agency
666 Evil Street
Hades, Hell 00000

Re: Collection Account for Original Creditor
Account #: 00000xxxx
Amount: $25.00

To Whom It May Concern:

This letter is to inform you that the validity of this debt is disputed. I am not sure of the account number, as I have never heard from you regarding this account. The account number I have is the one listed on my Experian credit report – which omits the last few digits.

In the spirit of compromise, I am willing to pay this account IN FULL (or settlement percentage) if you agree to immediate deletion of this account from any and all credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion). The purpose of this settlement is merely to have this item removed from my credit files. It is not to be construed as an acknowledgment of liability for this debt in any form.

If you agree to the terms and accept this agreement, certified funds for the settlement amount of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) will be sent to Collection Agency in exchange for full deletion of ALL references regarding this account from my credit files and full satisfaction of the debt. As certified funds will be used for payment, there shall be no waiting period regarding the deletion of this account from the credit reporting agencies.

Collection Agency agrees to delete ALL information regarding this account from the credit reporting agencies WITHIN TEN CALENDAR (10) DAYS following receipt of payment as specified above and will not discuss the terms of this settlement with anyone, excluding your client on this account. If contacted by any third party, including credit-reporting agencies, Collection Agency will not acknowledge that any settlement offer was made, accepted or executed and will, in fact, deny knowledge of any such account.

If you agree to the above terms, please prepare a letter on your company letterhead explicitly agreeing to the same terms as the above settlement offer and have it signed by an authorized representative of Collection Agency. It will be implied that this letter shall constitute a legally binding contract, enforceable under the laws of my state.

Your response must be postmarked no later than 15 days from your receipt of this settlement offer or this offer will be withdrawn and I will request full validation of this alleged debt, as provided for by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Please address all correspondence regarding this account to:

Answer 2

You will need at least a 2 year consistent, on time payment history. Paying off old debts looks better.

Make sure you aren't carrying balances on your credit cards. The debt to available credit ratio should be less that 30% and has a big impact on your credit score.

Answer 3

Normally it works like this..

When you pay a collection off, you will probably get a small boost withing the next couple months. But it wont be much. The problem is that the collection will still be on your report, and that will keep your score from getting way up there.

Answer 4

It takes about a year depending on what else you have going on. It occurs gradually over the year though and it depends on when your creditors report it to the credit bureau. The late payments will still affect your score though, even though they are paid off.