A question for those who have already been discharged

[lightmank]

Hi all. I have a couple questions for those who have already had their bk discharged. If you don't mind me getting a little personal.

1. How long ago was your bankruptcy discharged?
2. What is your credit score now?
3. What did you do if anything to improve your score?
4. Finally, what sort of accounts have you had since your discharge that determined your score?

I know these are personal questions, but I am in the process of filling bk and would like an idea of how fast others have built their credit scores so I have a better idea of what to expect.

Also...I never had a job until I was 18. By the time I was 22 I had a credit score of around 700 according to an Equifax report at that time.

When my bk is discharged, will I be able to get a 700 score in 4 years like I did when I was 18-22?

Thanks for the help. Kyle

[mgmadara]

1. We were discharged February 14, 2006.

2. Our scores are in the low 700's.

3. I have 2 student loans, and we have a mortgage that we are doing a ride through on, but our bank still reports our payments. We also had a Lowe's card with a $7500 credit limit that survived our bankruptcy. After discharge we concentrated on moving on with our lives and didn't worry about our credit reports or our scores. 2 years after discharge we cleaned up our credit reports and each applied for 1 credit card. After our credit reports were cleaned up we started charging a small item at Lowe's every month and paid the balance in full.

4. I got a WAMU card and my hubby got an HSBC card in June of 2008, both credit limits are $4000. We've been carrying a small balance on each ever since.


We stopped paying our credit cards 3 months before we filed and had no charge offs, repos or foreclosures. I don't know what our scores were when we filed so I don't know how much we improved over the last 3 years, but I imagine the scores weren't really that horrible to begin with. Since discharge we have paid everything on time and have not mishandled our new credit cards. There really is no way to tell if you can get scores in the 700's in 4 years after discharge. We didn't dwell on our credit score, we simply concentrated on paying everything on time and learning to live within our means.

[FloridaGuy]

Your credit score will greatly depend on what it is prior to the BK, and how your payments were made prior to the BK. In my blog I have been documenting our scores through the process. (Link in my sig) My wife was over 700, and I was in the hi 600's when we filed. We had NEVER had a late payment prior to filing. (Except we each had 1 show up literally the day before we filed, as we stopped paying CC's, etc as were advised.)

We were just discharged a couple weeks ago, and I am waiting another couple weeks to pull our files, and check for any discrepancies. At that point I will have anything corrected that is reporting inaccurately.

[Logan]

Your credit score will greatly depend on what it is prior to the BK, and how your payments were made prior to the BK. In my blog I have been documenting our scores through the process. (Link in my sig) My wife was over 700, and I was in the hi 600's when we filed. We had NEVER had a late payment prior to filing. (Except we each had 1 show up literally the day before we filed, as we stopped paying CC's, etc as were advised.)

We were just discharged a couple weeks ago, and I am waiting another couple weeks to pull our files, and check for any discrepancies. At that point I will have anything corrected that is reporting inaccurately.

I have also argued that your credit score depends on where it was before filing. I also believe that people are way too fixated on their credit scores thanks to Suzy Orman and the rest of the advertisements. The best thing you can do is make sure you pay everything on time and that your credit report has no errors. Beyond that your score will do whatever it's going to do.

Logan

[Flamingo]

The only thing that will improve your credit rating after discharge is time and along with the passage of time, being pristine with how you handle your finances and credit. No late or non-payments on anything, including utilities. Go easy on trying to obtain credit after filing as the inquiries can pile up, especially after several denials (which you will get due to the BK), and those inquiries remain on your reports for two years. It is up to you how you responsibly handle your money and credit in the years following BK to be in a better place. Creditors are looking for responsible handling.

[AMISLANDER]

Hi all. I have a couple questions for those who have already had their bk discharged. If you don't mind me getting a little personal.

1. How long ago was your bankruptcy discharged?
January 2007
2. What is your credit score now?
700
3. What did you do if anything to improve your score?
Applied for a few (3) to re-build credit...
4. Finally, what sort of accounts have you had since your discharge that determined your score?
I had A++++ credit prior...maybe that's helped in the long run? Also, was on a mortgage of over $700K that was paid off with my xhusband...many things come into play with credit scores....

I know these are personal questions, but I am in the process of filling bk and would like an idea of how fast others have built their credit scores so I have a better idea of what to expect.
If you had good/great credit before, it may help

Also...I never had a job until I was 18. By the time I was 22 I had a credit score of around 700 according to an Equifax report at that time.

When my bk is discharged, will I be able to get a 700 score in 4 years like I did when I was 18-22?

Thanks for the help. Kyle

Many things come into play, what's your current situation?

[Logan]

The only thing that will improve your credit rating after discharge is time and along with the passage of time, being pristine with how you handle your finances and credit. No late or non-payments on anything, including utilities. Go easy on trying to obtain credit after filing as the inquiries can pile up, especially after several denials (which you will get due to the BK), and those inquiries remain on your reports for two years. It is up to you how you responsibly handle your money and credit in the years following BK to be in a better place. Creditors are looking for responsible handling.

Inquiries can stay on your credit report for two years but they really don't affect your score after 90 to 180 days. This shows potential creditors how much shopping for credit you've done over this period.

Logan

[downwardspiral]

1. How long ago was your bankruptcy discharged?
About 4 months ago

2. What is your credit score now?
625 Not good, but working on it.

3. What did you do if anything to improve your score?

I opened two new credit card accounts, I've kept my balance within 30% of the credit limit, and I pay on time.

4. Finally, what sort of accounts have you had since your discharge that determined your score?

I have a Capital One credit card and a HSBC credit card.

[monkatom]

discharged May 2008.
Score in the high 600's
made sure everything was reporting correctly disputed any items that were not.
Opened three credit cards, target, Orchard, and Hooters and keep utlization under 10%. Actually I pay them off online twice a month before the statement date and before the end of the month and leave a $10 balance to pay when the bill comes in this way my utlization is like 2%