How Long Does it Take to Clean Up Bad Credit?

[tess_bk]

I passed 10 years clear last November. What a relief! But now I have found myself unexpectedly in a difficult financial situation again, which has caused several cards to become late 30+ days. I believe I'll have everything under control and current again within another month, but in the meantime is there anything I can do to keep my credit from descending even further? And once I get my accounts current again, how long will it take for my credit score to improve? Ultimately what I want to do is consolidate the credit I've got now via a credit union line of credit and then pay that off and be done with it. How soon after I get everything current do you think that might be possible?

[justbroke]

Your credit will improve over time, since you have the 30-60 days late entries. Thee number of accounts that went 30-60 days past due will directly affect your score's recovery. If it were only 1 bad entry, you may get dinged 50 points in the first month, and then slowly creep back up. As the bad entry ages to 2 years your credit score "could" be back to where it was. The problem is the multiple late tradelines.

They say that 24 months (2 years) of perfect payment record and low utilization, will fix minor blemishes. I can't predict what your multiple late trades will do or have done to your score. Time is the cure.

[tess_bk]

Thanks, justbroke. Just so I know there's a path to recovery, and a timeline that I can keep in mind.