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[RotaryGeek]

When i was 18, i got 2 credit cards. Like any dumbass 18 year old, i maxed them out. I paid on them for a while, then stopped when i was like 20. Now here i am, 4 years later hating myself for it. My credit is shot to shit. I don't have a hope of qualifying for the home loans that i was planning on. I have completely paid off my 2 credit cards, took the settlement offers from them. I also had 3 medical bills from when i almost chopped off my fingers last year. I have paid all but one bill from that. All i have in debt right now is a $300 bill for a sprained ankle from metrodeath hospital that will be paid off on the 29th this month. I applied for the first time homebuying loan, and got denied. So im about to sign a lease for a duplex for me and my girl and baby till i can boost my credit. Problem is, nobody will give me a credit card to start building it. I don't blame them, with my past history i can see how they would not want to take a risk on me. But i do need a card to start out with again. I have applied for a walmart card, and im still waiting to see if they approve or deny me. But if i get denied, ill need to get a card from somewhere. I don't really have the extra money to dump into a secured card, but if i absolutely have to, i can put some of my tax refund into a secured card, but i won't really be able to add much to it monthly, maybe like $50 a month. So what do you think i should do?

[97Econobox]

credit cards don't show up on credit reports unless you don't pay em.  Same with closed accounts.  never close em just leave em hanging out and slice the card up.

The answer isn't clear cut, do you need a car?  if you want credit id tell you to go get a loan on one and pay it off.  Small loans will help but not as much as an "Auto loan" and you have a higher chance of fucking yourself if you loan 4 grand to yourself for 6 months for the purpose of "Building credit" you will end up with a turbo car and lots of drunken nights and a huge loan bill.  that's stupid. 

you want credit best and quickest is to buy a car or house really.  I didn't have dick for credit really before i bought my house now im knocking on like 700 i think and have had it for like 4 years.  like i said though i didn't have shit for credit before that, no car loans, no small loans, just small credit cards.

Cray91 had good advice on this last time there was a thread on it.

[92CXyD]

Go to your bank and get a revolving credit account.

Pay on it for 2 full years to show good payment history.

Bump around this site to learn about your FICO score and how to improve it.
http://ficoforums.myfico.com/fico/
http://ficoforums.myfico.com/fico/board/message?board.id=ficoscoring&thread.id=29793

Also use the search button in here because we had one or two thread like this that had more info. :yes:

[97Econobox]

Go to your bank and get a revolving credit account.

Pay on it for 2 full years to show good payment history.

Bump around this site to learn about your FICO score and how to improve it.
http://ficoforums.myfico.com/fico/
http://ficoforums.myfico.com/fico/board/message?board.id=ficoscoring&thread.id=29793

Also use the search button in here because we had one or two thread like this that had more info. :yes:

Good payment history = Nothing.  meaning there wont be a single thing on it unless you fail to pay someone.  Doesn't tally how many on time payments you've had to places, only the places that never received payment from you.

[bigwig]

I don't think you should be super bummed about not getting a home loan.  Houses aren't fantastic investments that people make them out to be unless you think short term 2-5 years.  Past that point, interest, taxes, ect ect ect really make it sometimes more expensive than renting and once you go and sell the house you aren't in any better fiscal circumstance.  There are circumstances and arguments both ways suggesting buying a home is better or renting is better.  So don't get too bummed.

The best thing to do is rent a place less than you'd pay on just the mortgage.  Take the assumed difference, and save it away into a savings account or mutual fund.  Something liquid.  Then just live life as a fiscally conservative person for the next 2-5 years.  At the end of that time, you should have money in the bank and a good 2-5 years of sound credit history.  They can't hold what you did as an 18 year old against you forever.  You need to show a history of good spending.  If you can manage 5+ years of it, you will be okay.

[Jorsher]

Econobox, that's not entirely correct about the credit history thing...  Some things will only show up when you fail to pay, however out of the 3 credit cards I've had, and few loans I've had, they all have reported monthly.  Most credit card companies report, but it doesn't hurt to ask "will this be reported to all 3 credit bureaus monthly."

- www.creditboards.com has a lot of good information on clearing up fuckups and building credit, someone mentioned it on the thread on ohmt

- Orchard Bank prepaid credit card.  Most of these are scams with ridiculous fees and some don't report.  I've used my Orchard Bank one for 2 years now and they've reported every month and don't make you pay an activation fee or any fee.  You sign up, send them the amount you want to "prepay", and you'll get a card with that much on it.  Shows up as a credit card, and you can get one no matter what your credit is.  Once you close the card, you get your money back with interest.

- Card utilization - don't max out any cards that you may have, even if you pay it monthly.  Best thing to do is have a bunch of cards that you barely use.  If you don't use them, it is bad for your credit, and if you max them out it won't help much.  Use them but use a small percentage of each card.  I don't think anyone knows what a good percentage to use is, since they vary depending who you ask, but just use a small amount, maybe 25% of each card, and pay it back.

- Get a loan - get any kind of loan you can for anything (as long as you can pay it back).  Even if you get a $500 signature loan and can pay it back immediately...make the scheduled payments to build a credit history.

- Jewelry store - they love to give credit cards.  First one I ever got was at a jewelry store when I was a teenager.  Bought a watch and paid them back as scheduled.

There's a whole bunch of shit you can do to build credit.  Check out creditboards.com and read around, mostly the n00b guides.

[RotaryGeek]

The rep at the mortgage company was schooling me a little bit on how to bump my credit. She said that the best and maybe only thing i can do at this point is to open a credit card account and make monthly payments above the minimum. Nobody will give me a loan for anything right now. And since i have a girl and a kid now, its a little expensive. If it helps i can break down my monthly income to see what i could actually afford.

I get paid $1850/month

$450 rent
$200 elec (? haven't seen a bill yet cuz im still waiting to activate it)
$60-100 water (? again i don't know for sure yet, guessing a little high to be safe)
$100 insurance
$150 phone
$300 groceries (+/- about 50 depending on the month. We only buy groceries once a month, but small trips to walmart kill me.)

So thats a 1k right there, should have like$850 a month left. But it all disappears quick. I drive 35 miles to work 6 days a week, so thats like $30 in gas a week, my girls gas, smokes (we are both quitting as soon as we move to the new house) and other misc shit. And on payday we always go out to eat at like genghis grill or chopticks for some good pho... The rest is just misc shit we need for the house and eating out. We have to stop doing that.

[Jorsher]

we are both quitting as soon as we move to the new house

Haha, good luck with that (seriously).  I've said "I'm quitting as soon as _____" for the past few years.  Hope you guys do thought, a pack or two a day gets expensive.

I was a couple points from being eligible for a home finally, had to raise it almost 100 points and did so within a year and half using info from creditboards...then became unemployed and it's back in the shitter

[RotaryGeek]

Well i quit last year before my birthday, and this last trip to vegas a week ago was too much for me so i started again. I had quit for over a year before that using chantix. She had quit too but recently started again. And the VA has been sending my dad Buproprion in big ass bottles to get him to quit and he never takes it so thats what im gunna use this time. That should save alot of money.

[Eggylshatch]

The rep at the mortgage company was schooling me a little bit on how to bump my credit. She said that the best and maybe only thing i can do at this point is to open a credit card account and make monthly payments above the minimum. Nobody will give me a loan for anything right now. And since i have a girl and a kid now, its a little expensive. If it helps i can break down my monthly income to see what i could actually afford.

I get paid $1850/month

$450 rent
$200 elec (? haven't seen a bill yet cuz im still waiting to activate it)
$60-100 water (? again i don't know for sure yet, guessing a little high to be safe)
$100 insurance
$150 phone
$300 groceries (+/- about 50 depending on the month. We only buy groceries once a month, but small trips to walmart kill me.)

So thats a 1k right there, should have like$850 a month left. But it all disappears quick. I drive 35 miles to work 6 days a week, so thats like $30 in gas a week, my girls gas, smokes (we are both quitting as soon as we move to the new house) and other misc shit. And on payday we always go out to eat at like genghis grill or chopticks for some good pho... The rest is just misc shit we need for the house and eating out. We have to stop doing that.

it sounds like the girlfriend needs a job

[ryan89crx]

The rep at the mortgage company was schooling me a little bit on how to bump my credit. She said that the best and maybe only thing i can do at this point is to open a credit card account and make monthly payments above the minimum. Nobody will give me a loan for anything right now. And since i have a girl and a kid now, its a little expensive. If it helps i can break down my monthly income to see what i could actually afford.

I get paid $1850/month

$450 rent
$200 elec (? haven't seen a bill yet cuz im still waiting to activate it)
$60-100 water (? again i don't know for sure yet, guessing a little high to be safe)
$100 insurance
$150 phone
$300 groceries (+/- about 50 depending on the month. We only buy groceries once a month, but small trips to walmart kill me.)

So thats a 1k right there, should have like$850 a month left. But it all disappears quick. I drive 35 miles to work 6 days a week, so thats like $30 in gas a week, my girls gas, smokes (we are both quitting as soon as we move to the new house) and other misc shit. And on payday we always go out to eat at like genghis grill or chopticks for some good pho... The rest is just misc shit we need for the house and eating out. We have to stop doing that.

How do you honestly think you can afford a mortgage with that amount of bill and only $1850/month income?

And people wondered how so many Americans got in over their head and foreclosed on their home...

[bigwig]

I'm glad you both said it before me, because that is definitely the case.  Granted, I live in NJ, but I was making more than that at my first real job, living at home with only basic expenses, and I felt poor after every pay check.  I'd say I banked about 85% of the paycheck too.  I just knew the money wouldn't carry far enough to buy/rent, with real full expenses.

Your GF needs a job or you need a better job.  IIRC, you are a prison guard.  Maybe you should move into private security.  I believe the money is a lot better and the job is safer/easier.

[RotaryGeek]

She is a full time mom, if she doesn't want to get a job, i won't make her. We are living ok on what i make, but extra income is always nice. We were only looking at homes about 50-60k with monthly mortgage of about what im paying in rent. It would be a starter home, live there a couple years and buy a bigger home when i can afford more. I make decent money for the area im in. About 4k more/year than the average family. Plus all our insurance comes right out of my check before i ever get it. So i don't have to worry about health or any of that stuff. And as of now, they are taxing me at 0 dependents, so next month $1850 should go up a decent amount when i switch it to 3 dependents.

[ryan89crx]

with monthly mortgage of about what im paying in rent

What about property tax? As well as all the other bills that you don't see as a renter?

[RotaryGeek]

Im not sure about property taxes in texas, but it shouldn't be too bad. I used a mortgage calculator a few times and found out i could afford a 70k house, but decided to go with a 50-60k so we had some extra money. But since that fell threw we will just rent while i work on my credit and try again later. Kinda blows cuz i was looking forward to owning a home, but oh well.

[Joseph Davis]

I don't think you should be super bummed about not getting a home loan.  Houses aren't fantastic investments that people make them out to be unless you think short term 2-5 years.  Past that point, interest, taxes, ect ect ect really make it sometimes more expensive than renting and once you go and sell the house you aren't in any better fiscal circumstance. 

Uh, when you go to sell most homeowners end up breaking even.  Where I live, they made a few tens of thousands of dollars.  Renters are throwing their money down the drain.

[patsmx5]

I don't think you should be super bummed about not getting a home loan.  Houses aren't fantastic investments that people make them out to be unless you think short term 2-5 years.  Past that point, interest, taxes, ect ect ect really make it sometimes more expensive than renting and once you go and sell the house you aren't in any better fiscal circumstance. 

Renters are throwing their money down the drain.

Shhhhhh. My dad has a rental right now that's paying the mortgage, insurance, taxes, and about 150/month profit.

[LS1pwNzJ00]

make that bitch get a job, she cant be no freeloading ho just cuz she popped out a little cracker round eye chillun.  BITCH YOU BEST GETS TA WERKIN THAT CORNUH!  thats what you oughta tell that bitchass hoe

[bigwig]

I don't think you should be super bummed about not getting a home loan.  Houses aren't fantastic investments that people make them out to be unless you think short term 2-5 years.  Past that point, interest, taxes, ect ect ect really make it sometimes more expensive than renting and once you go and sell the house you aren't in any better fiscal circumstance. 

Uh, when you go to sell most homeowners end up breaking even.  Where I live, they made a few tens of thousands of dollars.  Renters are throwing their money down the drain.

There is a lot of discussion about renting vs owning currently in the news/economic world.  There are several cases where renters are able to spend less annually.  Then given they have savings, they are able to put it in an interest bearing account, and the growth on that money is more than the money you will gain by owning a house.  Now, I don't believe that works all the time, but it does sometimes.  In the evaluations, typically you are not comparing apples and apples.  If someone rents, its typically a smaller home/apartment than what they end up buying(except city dwellers).  So by changing the variables, the evaluation is no longer necessarily applicable.

Did I use enough language to make my point clear that renting vs owning is on a case by case basis?

Link: http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/home-economics-the-hidden-costs-of-the-'american-dream'-409285.html?tickers=REZ,IYR,XHB,HD,LOW,DHI,PHM

[Kenny Rogers]

I want to check my score, but I don't want to enroll in some "free" program that I have to cancel.  Isn't there a site that'll let you check your score once a year and not enroll in any BS?

[97Econobox]

I don't think you should be super bummed about not getting a home loan.  Houses aren't fantastic investments that people make them out to be unless you think short term 2-5 years.  Past that point, interest, taxes, ect ect ect really make it sometimes more expensive than renting and once you go and sell the house you aren't in any better fiscal circumstance. 

Uh, when you go to sell most homeowners end up breaking even.  Where I live, they made a few tens of thousands of dollars.  Renters are throwing their money down the drain.

There is a lot of discussion about renting vs owning currently in the news/economic world.  There are several cases where renters are able to spend less annually.  Then given they have savings, they are able to put it in an interest bearing account, and the growth on that money is more than the money you will gain by owning a house.  Now, I don't believe that works all the time, but it does sometimes.  In the evaluations, typically you are not comparing apples and apples.  If someone rents, its typically a smaller home/apartment than what they end up buying(except city dwellers).  So by changing the variables, the evaluation is no longer necessarily applicable.

Did I use enough language to make my point clear that renting vs owning is on a case by case basis?

Link: http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/home-economics-the-hidden-costs-of-the-'american-dream'-409285.html?tickers=REZ,IYR,XHB,HD,LOW,DHI,PHM

This is silly.  will you monetarily come out ahead well sorta, but you own nothing when its all said and done.  Its just like leasing a vehicle.  sure its cheaper you could save money but after the 3 years are up you own nothing, therefore have nothing to put towards another car except what you have saved.

Looks good on paper but rarely works out that way.

[Jorsher]

I want to check my score, but I don't want to enroll in some "free" program that I have to cancel.  Isn't there a site that'll let you check your score once a year and not enroll in any BS?

I think if you go directly to the bureau's website...ie transunion.com, experian.com, etc, that you can get it for free once a year.

Dunno.

[Phate]

install a turbocharger.

[bigwig]

I don't think you should be super bummed about not getting a home loan.  Houses aren't fantastic investments that people make them out to be unless you think short term 2-5 years.  Past that point, interest, taxes, ect ect ect really make it sometimes more expensive than renting and once you go and sell the house you aren't in any better fiscal circumstance. 

Uh, when you go to sell most homeowners end up breaking even.  Where I live, they made a few tens of thousands of dollars.  Renters are throwing their money down the drain.

There is a lot of discussion about renting vs owning currently in the news/economic world.  There are several cases where renters are able to spend less annually.  Then given they have savings, they are able to put it in an interest bearing account, and the growth on that money is more than the money you will gain by owning a house.  Now, I don't believe that works all the time, but it does sometimes.  In the evaluations, typically you are not comparing apples and apples.  If someone rents, its typically a smaller home/apartment than what they end up buying(except city dwellers).  So by changing the variables, the evaluation is no longer necessarily applicable.

Did I use enough language to make my point clear that renting vs owning is on a case by case basis?

Link: http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/home-economics-the-hidden-costs-of-the-'american-dream'-409285.html?tickers=REZ,IYR,XHB,HD,LOW,DHI,PHM

This is silly.  will you monetarily come out ahead well sorta, but you own nothing when its all said and done.  Its just like leasing a vehicle.  sure its cheaper you could save money but after the 3 years are up you own nothing, therefore have nothing to put towards another car except what you have saved.

Looks good on paper but rarely works out that way.

I don't think the guy is 100% valid/accurate but he has points.  Renting allows a certain amount of freedom both fiscally and from responsibility.  After your lease is up, you can move anywhere you want.  You also don't have your savings/retirement/future tied up in an asset that is not easy to liquidate.  If you want money out of stocks, you sell em the next day.

[97Econobox]

I want to check my score, but I don't want to enroll in some "free" program that I have to cancel.  Isn't there a site that'll let you check your score once a year and not enroll in any BS?

I think if you go directly to the bureau's website...ie transunion.com, experian.com, etc, that you can get it for free once a year.

Dunno.

This is true.  Also freecreditreport.com will also poll it but they give you one or the other.  You pick either a history or your score.  Wifey works for Equidata so free credit report.com basically uses them to pull credit reports. 

FWIW i would pick history cause if you have Dings onit you will see what they are and can act accordingly.  your score you wont know if there are bad things or good things on it.  If you know you don't have much then you want to eliminate the bad shit as much as possible, knowing your score per se might not help as much since you already know it wont be very high.

[Joseph Davis]

Renting allows a certain amount of freedom both fiscally and from responsibility.  After your lease is up, you can move anywhere you want.  You also don't have your savings/retirement/future tied up in an asset that is not easy to liquidate.  If you want money out of stocks, you sell em the next day.

Uh, do you know how much it fucking sucks to move or have to look for a new place?  You don't, you live in your parent's basement.  And comparing REAL property of REAL value with a piece of paper whose value fluctuates with the market assures you that while you can "get money out of them" quicker you aren't guaranteed to have made any money by doing so.

[Teg2boo]

Come to Canada. Credit score doesn't exist.

Renting allows a certain amount of freedom both fiscally and from responsibility.  After your lease is up, you can move anywhere you want.  You also don't have your savings/retirement/future tied up in an asset that is not easy to liquidate.  If you want money out of stocks, you sell em the next day.

Uh, do you know how much it fucking sucks to move or have to look for a new place?  You don't, you live in your parent's basement.  And comparing REAL property of REAL value with a piece of paper whose value fluctuates with the market assures you that while you can "get money out of them" quicker you aren't guaranteed to have made any money by doing so.

Next time I move I hope it will be for at least 20 years... I hate to move....

[Kenny Rogers]

Come to Canada. Credit score doesn't exist.

Renting allows a certain amount of freedom both fiscally and from responsibility.  After your lease is up, you can move anywhere you want.  You also don't have your savings/retirement/future tied up in an asset that is not easy to liquidate.  If you want money out of stocks, you sell em the next day.

Uh, do you know how much it fucking sucks to move or have to look for a new place?  You don't, you live in your parent's basement.  And comparing REAL property of REAL value with a piece of paper whose value fluctuates with the market assures you that while you can "get money out of them" quicker you aren't guaranteed to have made any money by doing so.

Next time I move I hope it will be for at least 20 years... I hate to move....

Do Canadians have a credit score system?

[Teg2boo]

As far as I know we don't have credit score with number related to it. Pay your bills, use your credit card and you have a perfect "score"...

[Corey]

Renting allows a certain amount of freedom both fiscally and from responsibility.  After your lease is up, you can move anywhere you want.  You also don't have your savings/retirement/future tied up in an asset that is not easy to liquidate.  If you want money out of stocks, you sell em the next day.

Uh, do you know how much it fucking sucks to move or have to look for a new place?  You don't, you live in your parent's basement.  And comparing REAL property of REAL value with a piece of paper whose value fluctuates with the marassures you that while you can "get money out of them" quicker you aren't guaranteed to have made any money by doing so.

people buy these "starter houses" thinking they will live in them for a few years and then sell for profit. it dont work like that unless you buy a house on the cheap in a bad economy and sell when shit goes back up. the first 10 years on a loan youre not paying shit towards the principle so your basically paying rent for all intents. i looked at my buddies mortgage statement he got this year. he paid 8900 in interest, 4700 in property tax and only $890 came off the principle.so he bought the house for 164K and after a year of $1300/mo mortgage payments he still owes 163K.