Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with badcredit

Had spouse, now have bad credit

Anonymous — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 14:25:42 -0800

Bad credit due to ex spouse. So how bad is this black mark going to hurt me? Four years ago, I became divorced from my spouse, Chris. We divorced no-fault but Chris was (perhaps still is) an alcoholic who went over time from social drinking to having a few too many a little too often to finally being unable to function in the real world.
Chris wanted and got the house which was fine; Chris liked it more and at the time made more money than I. Our divorce papers gave Chris the responsibility of all costs associated with the house and specified Chris had 12 months to sell the house or refinance to get me off the deed and mortgage.
Chris dragged feet; I followed up. Chris lost job. The mortgage fell behind. Chris’ folks bailed Chris out. Per the law in my county, I took Chris to mediation. Chris agreed to sell or refi the house ASAP. Didn’t happen. Lawyer helped me file a contempt claim against Chris for violating this (and several other) provisions of divorce. Chris' parents give more money to pay mortgage. Court date not set due to court calendar. Chris did tell me there was a potential buyer, dragged feet on getting paperwork to me, then came to me with sales contract at one point which I signed but then title report came back with lien and buyer bailed out. In the meantime (2007), foreclosure happens because I can’t afford to pay my own rent plus the back mortgage, a lien (placed after the divorce for a default judgment someone had against Chris), HA fees, etc totaling over 20k. Chris is totally broke so no help there.
So I have a big honking foreclosure on my credit report. It’s the only big bad thing there. I may have some (very few) miscellaneous late payments (~30 days) over the last decade but otherwise all is A-OK. I currently (knock wood) have stable employment and no debt.
However, I may want to seek employment elsewhere eventually, and I have discovered that I may need to apply for a higher level security clearance than I have already. (I got the clearance before this happened).
So how bad is this black mark going to hurt me with job stuff? And how do I cope with the occasional feelings of anger, guilt and embarrassment?
The friend who looked over this question said I should mention that “Chris was emotionally abusive and had a violent temper and was very clever about deceiving me about what was going on while we still lived together”. (fwiw)
Yes, I know I could have done things differently. I was young and naïve when I married. Thanks for any advice. I can be reached at Howbadcanitbe AT gmail.com

It's my first time at a used car dealership.

tdismukes — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 07:28:31 -0800

Urgently need advice on used car shopping. So, I was babying my old car along, planning on buying a replacement after the holidays. Unfortunately, it gave up the ghost earlier than expected and now it's time to go car shopping. Fortunately, there is a long line of used car dealerships just a mile from my house that I can walk to.

The thing is, I've always just bought cheap older used cars from private sellers and paid cash. This will be my first time going to a dealer, using credit, and getting the newest car we can afford.

Considerations/Limitations:

Both my wife and I have terrible credit. (Hers is slightly better, but I make most of the income). I know that I see dealership ads saying "Bad credit? No credit? No Problem!", but I'm sure this will affect our available choices.

I've worked out our budget and determined that we can afford monthly payments of up to $200/month and a down payment of up to about $1000.

Our prime concern is getting the most reliable vehicle, with the lowest mileage, that we can afford.

We live in Lexington, Kentucky, if that's relevant.

My Questions:

Given our credit and the budget I've listed above, how much car are we likely to get in the current market? (Should I be looking at the $6,000 cars, the $10,000 cars, or what?)

Given our poor credit, do we need to just go to certain dealers (the ones with those ads) or will most used car dealers be willing to work with us?

Given that my wife has better credit and I have most of our income, would we likely both be signing for the loan? (I'd kind of prefer that - most of my poor credit rating comes from the fact that I've never ever bought anything on credit, so this would help me establish my credit.)

How much haggling is expected over price? I have no experience with this and would obviously prefer not to grossly overpay.

Thanks in advance for all your answers. If you think of any additional info which I should know but which isn't covered by the above questions, feel free to offer it as well.

Buddy needs a car!

ZackTM — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 10:04:45 -0800

Reputable company to get an auto loan for first time buyer with slow credit? Hey my buddy is trying to buy a car through an independent seller, and he needs a small loan. $4k to be exact. He has no major reposessions or anything like that on his report, but the stuff he does have has been all slow pays from back when he was young and dumb.

Does anyone have any suggestion for how he can get a loan for this amount?

Who's the best to help me with my bad credit?

Anonymous — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 08:36:30 -0800

I have really bad credit and need professional help, who should I talk to? My scores range between 568 - 665 depending on who you ask. I've defaulted on all my student loans by never paying any of them back. I've had a car repossesed, which I had a loan out for approx $14K. I have lots of other various outstanding debts from credit cards, unpaid medical expenses, etc. All of this total probably equally to approx. $75K in debt.

So, my question is who should I talk to? A lawyer to file bankruptsy? An accountant to get myself on a budget? A credit councellor to handle all the collection agencies? A finacial advisor, can they handle all of it?

I'm really wanting to get on the road to recovery and eventually clear my name and start saving for down the road: a house, kids, retirement, etc.

And does anyone have any recommendations for the appropriate person in San Francisco?

If it matters, I'm 32 and earn $57,500/annually (gross).

Close a lease long-distance, or narrow and leap?

Anonymous — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 19:05:52 -0800

How do I find an apartment long-distance with very limited time and funding? Should I try to close long-distance on a place with reasonable location and price? Or reduce the field to a small number, take the leap, and hope for a quick closing while living in a motel? In four weeks, I'll be a full-time professional making reasonable money for my education and experience. But currently, I'm a half-time wage slave struggling to heal some bad credit (not credit card abuse) while earning well below the poverty line. We have barely enough savings to make 2 1/2 payments on a cheap apartment within a reasonable walking distance to work. We have one very beat-up and not very dependable truck that my partner needs here. We have very good relationships with relatives who could, if we asked, painfully scrape together some, but not a lot of additional funds provided I pay them back once I start getting regular paychecks from the new job. The new employer is not offering relocation assistance.

Assets I do have: a reasonably well-fiting suit, colleagues willing to give me character references, and a letter saying that I have been hired at a yearly salary far exceeding my current one, and a willingness to live with an air mattress, a chair, and a pot for a few weeks. Going through craigslist and some other sources, it looks like I have at least a half-dozen good candidates, more if I consider "no pets."

So, what is the best way for me to fill my rather modest shelter needs and get to work on time?

Seven years of bad luck?

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:59:26 -0800

I have managed to run my once-great credit into the ground. What now? How screwed am I, and for how long? It’s an embarrassing story, an epic tale of my own sheer foolishness. The short version is that I treated my two credit cards as magical goodies creators, and ran them each up several thousand dollars. I lost my job, fell behind on payments, and just freaked out because I couldn’t keep up with them. Calls started coming; I panicked and did nothing. One of my accounts was transferred to a collection agency; still I panicked and did nothing. For months. Believe me, I’m fully aware that this was exactly the wrong thing to do, and I’ll be learning from my gargantuan mistake for a long time.

The good news is I’m getting back on track. I was able to settle with the collection agency and loan money from my family; in another month that account will be settled for good. I will be spending the next few years paying my family back. I am paying my other credit card off slowly but steadily, which will also take a few years. The interest rate on the card is pretty low. I have a budget, and I’m getting in the habit of keeping track of every purchase I make. I don’t make a lot of money; things are going to be very tight for me for a while.

I think – I hope – I have a handle on the budget. However, I have almost complete ignorance of how my wretched credit will affect me. I’m scared to check my credit report because I know it’s going to be ugly. I know it’s going to be hard to do things like move or buy a car or, well, just about everything that I need to do in the next few years. But I don’t know how hard, whether they’ll be impossible or just a pain in the ass. I don’t know the ways in which they will be hard. I don’t know how to deal with them when they come up. I don’t know how long this shadow will follow me. My friends have good credit and can’t really offer any advice, and Google has turned up a bunch of sketchy looking websites I’m hesitant to trust.

Any advice or resources you have for me would be greatly appreciated. If you need it: omgpoor@gmail.com

How to Grow Good Credit in 2008

cockwaffle — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 07:10:32 -0800

Help me design the Best Possible Plan For My Credit in 2008. Ten years ago I had no cash, and terrible credit. Today I have some cash, and no credit. I want to make some good choices next year, based on a well-considered strategy. I should start by saying that I know this is a very nice problem to have. It's taken a long time to get here and I want to proceed wisely.

Back then: After getting into some minor credit card trouble in college ( lss than $2000), I argued some of the debts, settled the others, and never again looked twice at a credit card. But, I wasn't spotless; I still had hit-or-miss records on my student loans, and the assorted unpaid utility bills and bank overdrafts. There was a lot of robbing Peter to pay Paul back then, so any tiny surplus went to groceries, rent. Any time I could get a bit of a leg up, I'd improve my track record a bit, and by sticking to a cash-only policy, I stayed out of trouble. Fast forward to today: Recently married; partner had similar hit-or-miss past (sans the student loans), but no major credit stuff. Both happily employed with plenty of surplus, and making enough that we are both paying off debts here, socking away savings and retirement there. The one car is paid off; no mortgage. So, I've paid off all my old debts and claims, but there's no new good news to take its place. My FICO: TransUnion: 670, Equifax: 660. No Experian, because there's not been enough recent activity. I literally have nothing establishing credit in my name, save my debit cards / bank accounts.
The future:
- At some point in 2008, we need a second car; researching, I checked with my bank and they can't offer rates better than whatever dealership we'd go through. We don't care whose name the car is in since legally, it's all the same pile anyway.
- A mortgage won't be on the horizon till this sub-prime thing blows over, as we are in a market that's been hit especially hard; besides, we don't have that down payment saved. Still, I want to be mindful of that on the horizon, say 2009 or 2010.
- I would rather not get a store card (it seems like inviting trouble to create a purchasing tool that requires me to acquire stuff we might not need, in order to establish credit)
- And, a gas card won't be much help either (we don't drive that much)
- I would like a general credit card, that I would pay off every month. It would be for small daily purchases; the big tickets would only be travel, or the odd time where one needs to pay $500 or $1000 for something up front (medical, plumbing emergency, etc.). Bigger purchases might get paid off every two months.
- I have frequent opportunities to make fairly high dollar purchases for my company, which are reimbursed on time. I've refused to float those expenses out of pocket, to date, but it seems like putting them on my credit card could be an easy way to pay off an even higher balance promptly.

I want to proceed practically and with care, and in the order that will create the best effect, fastest.

Should I get the credit card before applying for the car loan? Should I postpone the car until after the credit boost that the (eventual, unplanned) mortgage will give... even if that will harm our quality of life for two or three years? Should I get a store card even if I don't want one? Should I definitely apply for a credit card that my bank offers, before any other lender, since they know me? I really would rather not get a secured credit card if I don't have to; will my FICO require it? Should I try to boost my FICO before I even consider applying for credit?

Tell me what to do, and why you think so. Or tell me of your own experiences and what seemed to work well. Or of websites, books, financial gurus we should check out. Or of glaring considerations I might have missed. I know you might not be an accountant, credit counselor or financial advisor, but we don't intend to hire one of those anyway. Our plan is to inform ourselves as much as possible, and then weigh it all and decide what makes the most sense.

What does a credit approval today say about my formerly-bad credit?

Anonymous — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 07:32:37 -0800

What does it indicate about my formerly-bad credit that I could be accepted today for a regular contract by a cell phone company? How can I tell when it's the right time to apply for a credit card again? I've been repairing my credit for a while now, so this is the first time I've applied for a credit-check-based account in a couple of years. I was approved and I'm excited about that, but I'm wondering what it indicates about how my credit is now. Could cell phone companies be called less picky, more picky or about as picky as other places that check credit, like a credit card company or a landlord? Or is that so much of a generalization that I really can't predict anything?

If it matters, my new phone is with T-Mobile and they said my credit indicates I could have up to three phone lines with them (don't know if that's average, low, or high number for them).

I have a few months before I can request any of my free annual credit reports again, so other than those, what other ways could I check up on my credit?

I know it would be useful to hold a credit card, charging only things I can repay immediately, to further establish good credit. (Last credit card I had was 9 years ago, in college, and I flunked on that one; its balance turned into a chargeoff.) If I should apply now for a credit card, can I pick any kind? I was thinking about one with a points system that rewards something I naturally do (one example is the Amazon card which rewards Amazon buying most).

Parents ruined my credit!

idledebonair — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 15:43:05 -0800

Bad Credit Filter: When I was 19/20 years old, my credit was ruined. It's nearly 7 years later, are these charges going to disappear, or is that just an urban legend? Bad Credit Filter: When I was 19/20 years old, I had a decent job and got a few credit cards. I went to college, which my parents said they would pay for and support me during, so I quit my job. When money was tight for them, they said I should use my credit, and they would pay it off. Of course they failed to do that and ruined my credit to the tune of about $5,000. I am now 25 and I'm starting to get back on my financial feet. I have often heard that bad credit only stays on your credit reports for 7 years. Is this true? What is my best plan of action? Should I pay these bills off? Or should I just wait a few more years for them to disappear? From what point are the 7 years counted?

How do I deal with an unpaid/old secured credit card bill?

finitejest — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 09:15:59 -0800

I had a $200 limit Capital One Secured Credit Card that I was unable to pay - and now its showing up on my credit report with a balance of over 900 as a Charge Off, how do I deal with it and work to remove it? I was unable to pay because of some financial difficulties, but I'm trying to fix my credit now. I want to pay it off/make it right, but I don't think its fair that I should have to pay over $900 on a SECURED card with only a $200 limit. I know much of those fees are late fees/none payment etc.

Its been on my credit report for several years now, but I'm ready to get rid of it. How should I approach dealing with this blemish on my credit, and what should I expect?

Will my potential employer check me out?

Anonymous — Mon, 10 Jan 2005 19:05:28 -0800

Background checks: I have a job interview coming up, and wonder if they'll do a credit check. If they do, I'm in trouble. I need this job very badly...thus the bad credit. Besides credit, employers may check education and criminal backgrounds (mine are clean), but do they have to let you know? How do you ask a potential employer about this without raising flags? While we're on it, is there a secret shit-list out there that employers may go to to see if you're a loser? Especially in software/web development in the northwest...

Banks that open account for people with bad credit (in the UK?)

Anonymous — Sat, 20 Nov 2004 11:22:20 -0800

UK Credit Filter - We have bad credit, and now our bank have decided that they want to close my accounts. So in order to be paid, and pay bills...I have to find a new current account. My wife and I know that we can fix our problems with money (and have been doing well for 3 months) - but we cannot seem to find a bank that will open a current account for us.

So for UK askMe people - do you know of a current account that will AT LEAST give us the benefit of the doubt?