Any credit gurus here?

[HoLeChit]

I've been spending tons of time the past 2 years cleaning up my credit from my younger dumber days, as I realized that I actually may need credit now that i'm a "grown man" (More or less). I've in that time taken my credit score from a 560-570ish to a 710-720ish. Now, in the state of OK, the Statute of limitations in 7 years, and according to the FCRA the amount of time it takes for a delinquency to drop off of a credit report is 7 years. At least to the Best of my knowledge.

The thing that is nagging me right now is that I have a debt (Car Repo, bad circumstances, bad choices, and bad dealership) that was posted as bad on my credit October of 2007. It is now off of my Experian report as of November '14, but not my other two. How do I go about getting it removed from the other two? It should be gone right?

If a perfectly formatted letter to the credit bureaus is the only route, does anyone know the best place to find examples and templates for formatting? I cant find much online that isn't a little ripoff company that just wants your money so they can "fix" you credit.

I wanna get this done so I can start house shopping.

 

[Jwryan84]

Time and time only. It happened and now you are " paying" for it. Keep saving a down payment and it will come off.

Believe it's 7-10 years before it comes off.

 

[FullAuto]

I thought most stuff stayed on there for 10 years. Who cares anyway? With a 710-720, you can buy a house without any problem.

 

[dennishoddy]

I thought most stuff stayed on there for 10 years. Who cares anyway? With a 710-720, you can buy a house without any problem.

You can't get pay pal credit with a 780 score.

I clicked on the wrong link one day, and decided to go ahead with the application. Got turned down because I don't have enough ongoing/recent credit.

Been debt free for 12 years now. We use two credit cards a lot, but we don't carry a balance. Use them for frequent flyer miles to get free flights for vacations.

 

[djcorrell]

daveramsey.com been credit free for a while.

 

[NikatKimber]

I like some of what Dave Ramsey teaches - the fiscal responsibility part - but the dismissal of having and keeping good credit is not wise, IMO.

Renting until you can pay cash for a house is idiotic in most circumstances, and to get approved for a home loan requires credit.

I did the calcs when I was about 20, and realized that getting a loan on a motorcycle ($2500), and getting a credit card, and paying both on time would not only get me approved, but save me tens of thousands due to qualifying for a lower interest rate on a mortgage. 9.9% on the bike loan cost me ~$200 in interest, I paid less than that over two years in credit card interest - almost never carried a balance. Getting a 1% lower interest rate on a house what some of my friends were getting was way worth it.

 

[okla1911]

Call the respective bureaus and ask what you need to do. Bureaus are not the greatest about updating information in a timely fashion.

 

[dennishoddy]

I don't need credit. Just amused that I got turned down with a high credit score.

 

[SoonerP226]

Renting until you can pay cash for a house is idiotic in most circumstances, and to get approved for a home loan requires credit.

First of all, he doesn't recommend renting until you can pay cash; a mortgage is the one form of debt that he considers tolerable. Secondly, he addresses the issue of getting a mortgage without credit at least once per week on the show--you can get a mortgage without a credit score, but you have to find a lender who will do manual underwriting.

 

[NikatKimber]

I don't need credit. Just amused that I got turned down with a high credit score.

Oops, wasn't referring to you.

First of all, he doesn't recommend renting until you can pay cash; a mortgage is the one form of debt that he considers tolerable. Secondly, he addresses the issue of getting a mortgage without credit at least once per week on the show--you can get a mortgage without a credit score, but you have to find a lender who will do manual underwriting.

"Can" is subjective. It is much harder to get a loan without established good credit. If it you can get even a fraction of a percentage lower interest rate on your mortgage, it will save you thousands in the long run; so establishing credit on a low cost short term loan can be well worth it.

Now make no mistake, I am not one to preach we should all just run out and gather up loans and credit card debt. Just that preaching "debt is the devil" can be short sighted financially.

What we should be teaching kids - both in school and at home - is responsibility. Not everyone will just be able to buy everything they want.

And sorry if I offended you by not being more respectful of the holy one. LOL!