Expert: David - 4/19/2009

Question
Between 2003-2004, I fell behind in every bill that one would have mortgage, loan, credit cards, auto everything.  Near the end of 2004 I came into a little money and I paid off everything that ended up being a chargoff on my credit report. I sold my townhouse in 2005 because I did not want to go into foreclosure. In the last 3-4 years I applied for 2 credit cards to try and reestablish my credit and receive them with a $500 limit on each of them. (These are not secured credit cards).Those are the only 2 debts that I have to show on my credit report that I have been paying on for the last 3-4 years. My credit score I believe between 2003-2004 was around 510 with all those chargeoffs. I want to check my score just to see what it is now since all the chargeoffs were paid off almost 6 years ago. The majority of them will be falling off I believe summer of next year. What do you think my score may be at this time? I want to check it but don't want to be disappointed if it's still low from back in 2003-2004, or maybe I should just wait until next summer to check it when everything will start to fall off.  I would like to purchase another townhouse the end of 2010.

Answer
Betty,

I really cant guess what your score is.  They are many many factors to be considered. I will tell you that I have seen people raise their scores as much as 200 points in about a year after bankruptcy/foreclosure.  Point being, there is potential that your score has gone up.

I recommend you visit my site @ www.financialscoringsolutions.com to make a quick increase in your score.

I primarily work with mortgage professionals to help them increase their clients credit scores.  If your thinking about getting a townhouse soon you might want to have a mortgage person run your credit and let you know your score.  They can also let you know approximate amounts you can borrow with your income.  The score that mortgage people use is often different from the ones you'll purchase on-line or from the credit bureau's.

I can refer you to someone if you live round Chicago, otherwise ask around for a good referral.


Dave
219-718-8566