Improving credit score faster

Jefe · Mar 26, 2016

I have a judgement from six years ago. $1000. Found out when i applied for a loan. I have one secured CC.

Im sure the judgement will be renewed. Its not on any of the credit reports just in the court.

Would my score go up faster by getting more secured cards or paying the judgements first. Im going to do both eventually. Not sure which first.

Thanks in advance

Jefe · Mar 26, 2016

I could get secured cards high enough to pay the judgement off between them then pay those down over time i suppose.

srlhec · Mar 26, 2016

I would get a card but would not use over 25%. Credit utilization is a big factor on your credit score. On my CC I only use 2-3%. I fill up the car or stuff like that then pay it off the next statement. So I would get a CC and then pay off the judgement but don't use the CC to do it. Hope this helps.

Deleted member 121863 · Mar 26, 2016

get on credit karma and see what your score is, its free!! A judgement from 6 yrs ago would have very little impact but if its not on you credit report, SO WHAT!! It doesnt count unless it reports for another creditor to see... Unless small chance they want to garnish wages or seize assets like a bank act.

Apply for a capital one junior card, not the platinum. They will bump your limit within 4 months. I got 3 of those cards with 4 months. Now total $7000 available credit, all unsecured, no annual fees, interest is 19.9% but I don`t care because I`m not using the cards for purchases, just credit building. I`m 655 on EQ and just got an auto loan for $10k at 4.65% :headbang:

pesty4077 · Mar 26, 2016

Not too many companies will renew those judgments. At this point, you are considered uncollectable. Realize one thing though, if you purchase property, more then likely you will have to satisfy it. If not buying property, I would not worry about it.

Also, since it is so old, you can negotiate to paying about half that. I would do that well before hand if you buy property. Just tell them you were thinking about filing BK, but wanted to know if they have a pay off for much less.

pesty4077 · Mar 26, 2016

hogan86 said:
get on credit karma and see what your score is, its free!! A judgement from 6 yrs ago would have very little impact but if its not on you credit report, SO WHAT!! It doesnt count unless it reports for another creditor to see... Unless small chance they want to garnish wages or seize assets like a bank act.

It is a public record and will matter if you are buying property. It will come up then. Court records are not just on your credit reports.

Giants83 · Mar 26, 2016

I had a judgement for 6 years. It had very little effect on me except for when I went to buy my house. Then I had to pay it. It obviously lowered my score a bit but I still had a decent score. The big surprise was when I went to pay it it accrued interest and penalties over the years and the number was a lot higher than what was lodged with the court. Lucky the company settled for a little lower but it was still a lot more expensive. Revolving credit (credit card) is a good way to build your score. Payment history and length of accounts is another huge factor and only time will help that. Like mentioned above keep utilization low and get credit karma. They even have an app. It's very helpful.

Jefe · Mar 26, 2016

Hogan, its not on my credit
None of the three agencies but it showed up when i applied for a small personal loan.

Jefe · Mar 26, 2016

Thanks for the replies btw

ericraven2003 · Mar 26, 2016

When the real estate market crashed in 08 I had to let a car go back, and all my credit cards go, but kept my former house payment good.
My score got down to 520 with many collections, and one judgement in 2013 from old debt. in 2012, started getting secured credit cards. Using and paying off regulary. By 2014, my score was in the 650s. Got some more lines of credit and did same thing. I now have 7 lines of credit plus car loan. The newest one is a 15k limt(couldnt believe it). They are all at zero balance or under 100 bucks. My credit score is now 765 average.
The one judgement I didnt even know about til 5 months ago when I got my vette. Even with my credit score the judgement did make it where I had to put more down to get best rate. About 45 days ago I disputed it on all 3 bureaus. 2 actually came off. Not sure if they will stay off. The only one that wasnt removed was equifax, but get emails once a week its still under review.
All the old negatives from 08/09 completely fell off(except for judgement) at the first part of 2015.
It was work but I got it up higher then before the crash. Patience is key and consistency.

Jefe · Mar 27, 2016

Ok. So get get new secured cards. With them pay judgement. Then pay them down. Shoot from the hip from there.

Yez?

Giants83 · Mar 27, 2016

Jefe said:
Ok. So get get new secured cards. With them pay judgement. Then pay them down. Shoot from the hip from there.

Yez?

Don't go to crazy getting a bunch of cards right now. I did it with one secured and then later started getting unsecured. Problem was because my credit wasn't to good then the interest rates were terrible. Seeing how they were my first cards they played a big role in the " age of accounts" which factors in to your score. So now I have a couple cards I don't even use. I have way better ones now but just wish I didn't open so many back then. I eventually cancelled my secured and just got my money back because you can't convert them. Just keep paying that one off. Carry a small monthly balance. I would pay that lien off. I don't know your situation but maybe you can settle for less. One day it will bite you. Unbeknownst to me mine was accruing interest and penalties.

Daneo · Mar 27, 2016

I have a question
I am in a similar situation except I had something drop of that caused my score to be 520. Now my score is 654 and I have a cc.

Should I get a loan from the bank and another card so my credit rating will go up faster?

In on month of having a cc, it went up 17 points

jamescb77 · Mar 27, 2016

Daneo said:
I have a question
I am in a similar situation except I had something drop of that caused my score to be 520. Now my score is 654 and I have a cc.

Should I get a loan from the bank and another card so my credit rating will go up faster?

In on month of having a cc, it went up 17 points

Use your card put 10% of the limit on there and pay down 5% then go back to 10 and back to 5 every month. I'm guessing the limit isn't huge. This will show true credit utilization which is what they want to see.

srlhec · Mar 27, 2016

Daneo said:
I have a question
I am in a similar situation except I had something drop of that caused my score to be 520. Now my score is 654 and I have a cc.

Should I get a loan from the bank and another card so my credit rating will go up faster?

In on month of having a cc, it went up 17 points

To answer your question more specifically thats tough to say bc when you start adding in hard inquiries and other accounts it's really hard to determine if it would help. Hard inquiries over certain periods that are close usually are looked at negatively. I think you only want to have two or three hard inquiries and they stay with you for two years I believe.
What you can do is use credit karma or other similar services that offer a "credit simulator" and trying seeing what it says. You just choose what you want to add or take away - like add a CC or loan and the amount etc and see what it does. Credit is so frustrating the best thing is low inquiries, low credit utilization, on time payments and TIME!! Hope this helps!

Daneo · Mar 27, 2016

I pay on time and keep my utilization below 30%, however, I have 10 hard inquiries basically from student loans

ericraven2003 · Mar 27, 2016

Jefe said:
Ok. So get get new secured cards. With them pay judgement. Then pay them down. Shoot from the hip from there.

Yez?

Im not paying off judgement. Its 5k. Just going to keep disputing it.

Giants83 · Mar 27, 2016

Daneo said:
I have a question
I am in a similar situation except I had something drop of that caused my score to be 520. Now my score is 654 and I have a cc.

Should I get a loan from the bank and another card so my credit rating will go up faster?

In on month of having a cc, it went up 17 points

Loans are only going to add to your total debt. It will go down at first but then go up after you keep paying it off. After I got my car loan it dropped a bit but after my house it dropped a lot. Just keep paying your credit card on time and leave it with a small balance. Get a loan only if you need it otherwise it will do little to nothing for you.

Daneo · Mar 27, 2016

Should I pay the entire card off before the due date, then during the 3 day grace period before the next cycle starts by something cheap for like 10 bucks so that it shows the credit bureau that I am using the card

Giants83 · Mar 27, 2016

Daneo said:
Should I pay the entire card off before the due date, then during the 3 day grace period before the next cycle starts by something cheap for like 10 bucks so that it shows the credit bureau that I am using the card

Just keep a small balance no matter how you do it. Your credit report doesn't show how much you paid and it takes a few weeks to catch up. Just keep it simple. Use, pay , small balance.