Posted on: 07th Jan, 2009 01:08 pm
my husband has to paid like $17.000 from a college loan, he has bad credit because he did not paid things on time, if he starts paying that debt can he inprove his credit or he has to pay it off ?
getting into repayment and maintaining payments will improve his credit score. if there are funds to pay it off, that's a wonderful solution, but for most of the population it's an impossibility. if there are any other items on a credit report that are holding him back, it's advisable to pay those as well, and the sooner the better.
Hey emychin,
Paying the debts will definitely improve the credit as George has said but I guess it will take some time to get reflected in the credit report.
Paying the debts will definitely improve the credit as George has said but I guess it will take some time to get reflected in the credit report.
Hi there. My husband was in the same boat, only worse. He had $19,000 worth of student loans from the US Department of Education that he didn't repay. They also tacked on $4600 in penalties so his balance is like $23,500. He started paying them when they first came due, had rough times and had them deferred for a year or so, then didn't qualify to defer again and couldn't afford them so just paid nothing and they've sat unpaid for a few years now, bringing his credit score down into the low to mid 400's.
Just this week I got him signed up for a Loan Rehabilitation Program that is directly through the US Dept. of Edu. We paid $500 as a down payment and secured the program enrollment by giving them our checking account information. They will take out $200 a month for the next 10 years and the loan is completely repaid. But, the GREAT PART, is that after 10 months of payments, they will remove ALL negative marks from his credit report and list the loan as an installment loan that has been being paid as agreed since the date they became due -- which is going to BOOST his credit score tremendously and give him good installment loan history on his credit report. In addition, they are going to remove the $4600 in penalties and his principal balance will go back to the $19,000 minus however much we've paid on it to that point.
The lady we spoke to was SO NICE - not judgmental at all, not pushy. We didn't have the money for the down payment til after we get our tax return so she post dated the down payment check for three weeks until we have the money in the bank and said if anything changes to call and she'll help reschedule a new payment date.
My advice, call and speak directly to someone that works at the company the loans are through. They are very reasonable because they know that if they don't work with you to give you payments you can afford then they just won't get any money at all. I didn't ask the woman I spoke too because we can't afford it right now, but perhaps if you get on a program like this and ask them if instead of 10 months of payments before they remove the negative marks could you pay 10 months upfront, ie. $2000 down, and then have them remove the negative marks right away. Something to think about.
Don't be intimidated by creditors. I'm only 23 and my husband is 27 and we've had bad credit for years because of hard times and low income, so we have a lot of creditors calling all the time. Ignoring the phone calls doesn't lower your stress level or solve the problem so just take them on one at a time and they are usually very nice and able to work with you. Many will even give you a settlement amount for near half of what you actually owe as long as you're willing to make monthly payments.
Good luck! Believe me I know how stressful fixing your bad credit can be, but you'll get there before you know it!
Just this week I got him signed up for a Loan Rehabilitation Program that is directly through the US Dept. of Edu. We paid $500 as a down payment and secured the program enrollment by giving them our checking account information. They will take out $200 a month for the next 10 years and the loan is completely repaid. But, the GREAT PART, is that after 10 months of payments, they will remove ALL negative marks from his credit report and list the loan as an installment loan that has been being paid as agreed since the date they became due -- which is going to BOOST his credit score tremendously and give him good installment loan history on his credit report. In addition, they are going to remove the $4600 in penalties and his principal balance will go back to the $19,000 minus however much we've paid on it to that point.
The lady we spoke to was SO NICE - not judgmental at all, not pushy. We didn't have the money for the down payment til after we get our tax return so she post dated the down payment check for three weeks until we have the money in the bank and said if anything changes to call and she'll help reschedule a new payment date.
My advice, call and speak directly to someone that works at the company the loans are through. They are very reasonable because they know that if they don't work with you to give you payments you can afford then they just won't get any money at all. I didn't ask the woman I spoke too because we can't afford it right now, but perhaps if you get on a program like this and ask them if instead of 10 months of payments before they remove the negative marks could you pay 10 months upfront, ie. $2000 down, and then have them remove the negative marks right away. Something to think about.
Don't be intimidated by creditors. I'm only 23 and my husband is 27 and we've had bad credit for years because of hard times and low income, so we have a lot of creditors calling all the time. Ignoring the phone calls doesn't lower your stress level or solve the problem so just take them on one at a time and they are usually very nice and able to work with you. Many will even give you a settlement amount for near half of what you actually owe as long as you're willing to make monthly payments.
Good luck! Believe me I know how stressful fixing your bad credit can be, but you'll get there before you know it!
britni, this is one of the best posts i've read in a long time. your testimony is valuable, and your breakdown of what you've done is a delight to the eyes. i wish more would provide their stories of success - there is so much negativity in the credit world, yet we see folk like you and your husband negating their previous problem credit by taking steps just as you have, all the time.
thank you so much for sharing your situation and the solution you found, but also for the good word about not being intimidated. i think we all know these things to be true, but when placed in troubling situations, for some reason we think "if i ignore it long enough, it will go away." that might work for the common cold, but it doesn't work with debt.
thanks once again, happy new year, and i pray that your husband stays on course as you've described it.
thank you so much for sharing your situation and the solution you found, but also for the good word about not being intimidated. i think we all know these things to be true, but when placed in troubling situations, for some reason we think "if i ignore it long enough, it will go away." that might work for the common cold, but it doesn't work with debt.
thanks once again, happy new year, and i pray that your husband stays on course as you've described it.
It seems as though I am in the same position as Britni's husband, only I think I may have a higher income. My fiance and I live in north Atlanta suburb, and we are getting married in 6 months. I have crappy credit due to college loans and expenses from college and she has perfect credit.
We make ~$110,000 a year gross combined with my credit score aroun 400. Would anyone know if it is possible to get a mortgage jointly in a year or so, or is this a pipe dream? Would I need to be on a payment plan for sometime beforehand, or would a company approve us based on our combined score or just hers ? We have the income and I have a bad credit past. What should we do if we want a house in a year? Or is it even possible?
We make ~$110,000 a year gross combined with my credit score aroun 400. Would anyone know if it is possible to get a mortgage jointly in a year or so, or is this a pipe dream? Would I need to be on a payment plan for sometime beforehand, or would a company approve us based on our combined score or just hers ? We have the income and I have a bad credit past. What should we do if we want a house in a year? Or is it even possible?
lately (and that is a key word), the standard for timely payment on a defaulted loan is 6 months. in other words, if you are in a plan with your student loan and it can be demonstrated that you've made at least 6 consecutive on-time payments, that suffices to reestablish your payment record on that account.
however (a big however), if your score is as low as 400, you've got a ways to go before you're going to be eligible to borrow on a mortgage. the minimum credit score, currently, for fha financing is 580. you need to turn around your payment record but quick to get up there in a year. and don't stop there - keep striving for higher. by the time you're at 580, i'd not be surprised that the score requirement will have changed again.
a pipe dream? absolutely not. i'm working with a client whose score was in the 490s a year ago. her score now is 616, which qualifies her for the product she wanted. her loan is slated to close at the end of this month for the home she wants to purchase for herself and her two children. see? there is light at the end of the tunnel...but you must be careful to take care of business.
however (a big however), if your score is as low as 400, you've got a ways to go before you're going to be eligible to borrow on a mortgage. the minimum credit score, currently, for fha financing is 580. you need to turn around your payment record but quick to get up there in a year. and don't stop there - keep striving for higher. by the time you're at 580, i'd not be surprised that the score requirement will have changed again.
a pipe dream? absolutely not. i'm working with a client whose score was in the 490s a year ago. her score now is 616, which qualifies her for the product she wanted. her loan is slated to close at the end of this month for the home she wants to purchase for herself and her two children. see? there is light at the end of the tunnel...but you must be careful to take care of business.
Paying off the bills is the right thing to do, But it will not improve your score overnight it will take time but paying off the bills will be doing him good.