My question: I want to work on getting mine and my husbands credit score much better than it is…lets face it its not good. I am wondering though…is it better to : 1. pay off ..a lump sum at one time OR 2. pay in payments…which will help AND another question: Is it better to pay off when its suppose to come off the credit report (the 7 years) roughly say in a year or two? Which is better can anyone help me?
Answer:Paying off derogatory items will not improve your score. The damage is done and will remain for the balance of the 7 year reporting period. However, creditors look at your whole credit report, not just the score. Paid old debt looks better than unpaid.
Since it doesn't help your score, you may as well negotiate settlement for as little as possible. The older the defaulted debt, the smaller the settlement. If any thing is close the the 7 year mark, you may want to just let it age off.
General rule of thumb: if the debt is over 3 years old, offer 25%; 2 or 3 years old, offer 50%; less than 2 years old, offer 75%. Lump sum gets the best deals. Payment plans must be short term. Get any settlement agreement in writing before you pay and don't give the collectors direct access to your bank account.
You will need at least 24 months of consistent, on time payment history to improve your score. It will take time to overcome all those defaulted accounts.
Answer:Keep doing what you're doing with the car loans and mortgage; it will serve you well in the future. When the negative accounts drop off, you'll still have positive history.
I could be wrong here, but I think making payments on those collection accounts will restart the clock for the credit report. It does restart the clock for the statute of limitations (SOL); the length of time creditors are allowed to sue for payment. The SOL differs by state, so check online to see how long that is where you are. Paying off collection accounts will stop the calls/mail, but it won't really help your credit score.
Start saving as much money as you can, regardless. Either this money will help you afford items in the future with bad credit or it will help you settle you debt. With poor credit, it's more difficult to obtain loans/credit. Better to have enough in savings to buy a car (or something else) in cash rather than rely on obtaining a loan. Or at least have a large down payment so the loan amount is smaller. While that money is in savings it's earning interest rather than paying interest to a loan. If I'm wrong and it's best to pay off the debts, collection agencies would rather have a lump sum payment than a payment plan. Savings gives you negotiating power to settle your debts for less.
I would research online or post another question here about settling debt restarting the clock for the credit report. If you do decide to settle your debts, *always* get settlement offers in writing and *never* give collectors access to your account.
Related posts:
- How do I fix my credit report? score? Let me be honest: I don’t have a very...
- How long does it take for ones credit score to increase, after an account (credit card, etc) has been settled? And how many points can it increase and how...
- Will paying off my student loan early increase my credit score? Thank you to all who answered on my question...
- What does a good credit report look like? Generally a FICO score about 700 is considered good....
- Can a collection agency put a past debt on my credit report as a recent debt? I recently received my credit report. I have no...