Almost at 2 years, we aren't where we wanna be.....

[egeitz]

i agree getting a house should be the last on your mind right now. getting your student loans should be number one right now.
cap one and hsbc are rebuilder card theses cards will not grow with you. cap one has different levels and once you reach cc amt on that level that it no more.
hsbc has given very little incr. since the card act 2 yrs ago.

my bk has been discharge since july 2009 my fico scores is in low 700 range and total credit on 6 cc is 35000 dollars. i have hsbs-orchard 700 dollars at the end of this month i wil close them the same with cap one 500 dollars i will close on aug 2011. then my lowest cc will be 5500 dollars.

true fico scores does not care if it low or high cc but cc companies does, they do not want to be the first one to give you a high limit. what i did was to save up my money after bk and got an secured cc for 5000 dollars then i join a credit union ater 1 yr post bk my cu gave me my first high limit cc 10000 dollars and the rest is history. now with my cu i can get any loans just by picking up the phone and within few hours i got my check(well within reason, like under 20000 dollars) for ex.

if i were you dont applied for any new credit, just try to help geeting you husband a job then pay off student loans show at least 12 months on time payment history, join a bk friendly cu, and save up money at least 2500 dollars secured cc thur the cu.

[Logan]

[QUOTE=egeitz;502156
true fico scores does not care if it low or high cc but cc companies does, they do not want to be the first one to give you a high limit. what i did was to save up my money after bk and got an secured cc for 5000 dollars then i join a credit union ater 1 yr post bk my cu gave me my first high limit cc 10000 dollars and the rest is history. now with my cu i can get any loans just by picking up the phone and within few hours i got my check(well within reason, like under 20000 dollars) for ex.[/QUOTE]

Exactly. How do you improve your score if you can't get credit? That's why low credit card balances actually do affect your credit score.

[egeitz]

all you need is at least two major cc which you got. then you need at least 1 store cc for a good mix of credit. get a secured loan about 1000 dollars, then use 1000 dollars that you get for loan and get a secured cc that is call a 1-2 punch.
clean up your cr and join a good cu that is bk friendly and keep your inq low and you should see good increase within a year.

[tobee43]

Exactly. How do you improve your score if you can't get credit? That's why low credit card balances actually do affect your credit score.

they do, i agree.....

and i also agree with egeitz with the respect...about not buying a home should be anyone's priority immediately and for those with student loans....that must come first.

i do, however, believe it's where you are on your life's journey...for us, we have no student loans.....buying or having our own home again was, in fact the most important priority for us...(why? it's our generations brainwashing i think?), so we did actually buy a house...we closed feb 15.......a week ago or so......how?? 100% owner financaling...some people depending on where you are desperate to get rid of their homes...so our credit didn't matter...we rented with option to buy.....i aggressively pursued that avenue until finally i got a contract signed.......and once again we are home owners.

we have credit cards....3 of them with a few thousand dollars......we are tearing them up......but once again, it's because of our "age" and where we are in our lives. we already raised our family...we HAD the american dream that turned into a waking nightmare.....and never want that again!

but for many of you, burdened with high student loans....no jobs....it's so tough....i really understand that for many credit is going to have to still be a part of ones daily life so it's somewhat important to try and get back on track....but for us....is CASH and CASH only.

i just believe...and i may be incorrect.....but TIME and distance between your filing is what will help one's credit scores......i guess we are on the same bus right now, and we need to see what will REALLY help improve credit scores.

*** just a note....i know of NO one during this present credit crisis that has rec'd a mortgage from a bank within 2 years of filing a bk.......NOT a one...myself).

[HHM]

but TIME and distance between your filing is what will help one's credit scores.

That is the MAIN factor.

Back to the OP's situation, I think more than anything else, it is the student loans that is the biggest drag on your credit rebuilding at this point. Since you have very low balances on your credit cards, your student loans indicate a very high credit utilization and they are not being paid...so that, more so than the BK, is what is keeping your credit score from going up.

As tobee points out, we have a generation emerging that doesn't know life without student loans. Student loans are replacing mortgages as the standard long term debt an individual will have throughout their livf. So, for baby boomers the dream was home ownership and mortgages facilitated it. For subsequent generations the dream (or the necessity) is education, and student loan are facilitating that...however, student loans are indentured servitude in this county. So, I agree with tobee, for those with student loans, that needs to be your priority. Home "ownership" is a bit of antiquated ideal and a bit over rated. First and foremost, homeownership really only makes sense if you are going to be in one location for a VERY long time...but with mobile jobs and workforce, that possibility is less and less. And no matter how you slice, homeownership is just more expensive than renting, so you really have to assess affordability. Even current mortgage guidelines, IMO, create too much of a burden...31% of gross income. The mortgage payment, ideally should be 20% or less, and certainly no more than 25% of your gross monthly income. Reason being, you can expect maintenance, utilities, upkeep and improvement to account for and add 20-30% to your mortgage payment. Note, these are general, educated, estimates.

For example, if you have a $1,500 mortgage, it is likely you are incurring, on average, an additional $500 per month of maintenance, utilities, upkeep and improvement (note, you may not actually spend $500 per month, but if you look over the course of the year, you may easily spend $6000 on utilities, upkeep, improvement, gardening etc). However, if you have an $900 mortgage and a real junker house, you may have $800 per month of average MUUI, or, if you have a $3000 mortgage and an a larger house, you probably have $750 per month of MUUI. So, this is why I always recommend a mortgage of no more than 20% of gross income.

[tobee43]

what is extremely concerning for all these unemployed recent college grads with enormous student loan balances...it the fact these loan balances can usually not be discharged.....whereas, a mortgage balance....once one has surrendered the collateral back to the bank, can disappear. what's next...should we ask for the education back???...shoot, it's not doing them any good for the moment anyway..right?

it was my contention while raising my kids....they can take away your house, your car, your bed....even your clothes......but they can't take away your education....

vital survival requirements in my parenting prior to opening the cage to fly "free"...1. min. under grad degree....2. good teeth...(the gateway to your body)...and 3. a good pair of shoes (to get you where your going.) one can tell i was a dreamer.

i believe congress must re-visit the student loan burden crisis that this country's , well educated, unemployed youth are facing. there MUST be some type of compromise...please...after all....these people are this country's future....they need jobs to pay back their loans....they need to use their knowledge and youth to help change!!

sorry for the rant here...but my heart just goes out for those with these harsh high loans...

[Exployer1234]

Tobee I agree. Congress should re-visit the student loan crisis. I think first off that college tuition should be lowered, and the student loan interest rates should be lowered to less than 4%. It was not more than 10 years ago that the interest rate on a federally backed student loan was less than 3%. Now the interest rate is 6-7.5 percent. Plus the cost of tuition has doubled, even tripled. Many states are even raising the cost of tuition for the fall by another 7-10% due to budget shortages. It is hard to find a job without some sort of college education. I know first hand how hard it was to find anything that paid decent, which lead me back to school to finish my under grad degree.

There is no easy solution to pay for the OP. I think first I would pay down the student loan debt by 50% and rent a nice house. It will cost less money to rent at this point, and you will have a chance of paying down the student loan debt. That is what my plan of action will be. My graduation is delayed by a semester now, because my classes did not transfer correctly. After I graduate and hopefully find a decent paying job I will start paying down my student loan debt. Then I will look for a house once the student loan debt is cut in half. I can not imagine paying a 500-700 dollars a month on my student loans,plus having a huge mortgage to pay each month. The economy is still to shaky to believe that your job will be here tomorrow.