Home buying thread

Joeboo

Molten Core Raider
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Just know thathttp://www.annualcreditreport.comwill give you a copy of your report to see details as far as credit lines, debts, collections, etc, but you will not get an actual credit score.

There's pretty much no free source for getting your exact credit score from one of the 3 bureaus, they all charge for access to that magic little number.

I do useCredit Karma -No Credit Card Needed., it gives you access to the items on your credit report, is totally free(none of that bullshit trial period and then they charge you), I've never given the site a credit card number. And while they don't give you your exact credit number from one of the 3 sources, they do give you an "estimated credit score" based on what is on your credit report, and honestly, it's fairly accurate. Best free credit site out there by far.
 

OneofOne

Silver Baronet of the Realm
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^^ That's a pretty decent site. They make money from advertising and offering you credit cards and refinances and such, but it's not horribly obnoxious about it.
 

Ritley

Karazhan Raider
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Discover puts your credit score on your statement since the beginning of this year I think, it's pretty nice.
 

Asshat Brando

Potato del Grande
<Banned>
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ok, don't want to read the many pages here, whats the best place to get my credit scores? Thinking of buying a place and I've heard they will want 2 years worth of taxes + credit scores to get started.


EDIT Google search seems to bring up what I would deem questionable places, perhaps its just me.
You never provide your own credit scores, it may be an initial question but any report you get is unusable by the lender as they are required to run their own report.
 

Lejina

(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
<Bronze Donator>
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The score has no use for you besides curiosity really. What you want is the details of your credit history, which is free. That way you can go thru everything on it and make sure it all belongs to you. A few years back I was asked by an internet provider to give a $200 deposit to open a new account because my credit was bad. I ordered my credit history and sure enough the collection for a $480 unpaid phone bill of some jackass with the same name had been put on my credit file, which tanked my credit considerably. To get it fixed was a snap, but that is something you want to stay on top of or you can run into problems when you're looking for a mortgage or something of the sort.
 

Noodleface

A Mod Real Quick
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The score has no use for you besides curiosity really. What you want is the details of your credit history, which is free. That way you can go thru everything on it and make sure it all belongs to you. A few years back I was asked by an internet provider to give a $200 deposit to open a new account because my credit was bad. I ordered my credit history and sure enough the collection for a $480 unpaid phone bill of some jackass with the same name had been put on my credit file, which tanked my credit considerably. To get it fixed was a snap, but that is something you want to stay on top of or you can run into problems when you're looking for a mortgage or something of the sort.
Similar thing happened to me with a Sprint account. $100 for some random collections agency and I had never used Sprint before. It was easy to get it removed, but it took so long that it went off after we got the mortgage - it definitely caused some issues during the application. If I had pulled a thorough report much earlier I would have been able to take care of it beforehand.
 

Joeboo

Molten Core Raider
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I just got a collection notice last month on behalf of AT&T for $56...and the last account I ever had with them was 2008, the year I cancelled my home phone. They told me it was my final balance after canceling service. Funny thing is, it's not like I immediately moved and my mail didn't get forwarded, I still lived in that place for 2 more years after shutting off my landline for good. Moved twice since then, and now 6 years later I get a collection notice. Fuck, there's no way to argue against that, I don't have paperwork/invoices from 6 years and 2 moves ago. So I just paid it (to AT&T, not the collection agency). So I'm out $56 and creditkarma.com estimated that my credit score tanked by 75 points when that collection showed up, as it's the only collection I've had in YEARS, probably close to 10 years at least. So my otherwise nice estimated credit score of 780 is now estimated at 705.

Fuck. That.

Guess I'll see what happens when it updates again next month and that is gone, I just know it still won't bounce back to where it was, that info will be listed on there for years, but just as a satisfied collection/debt or whatever, which isnt quite as bad as outstanding collection, but still bad.

The credit system is a goddamn sham.
 

Khane

Got something right about marriage
19,914
13,431
They send you the notice 6 years later for a reason. I'm fairly certain after 7 years any unpaid debt like phone bills and credit cards gets wiped from your credit history, so they wait until right before it would fall off your credit history to send it to collections (aka, they wait until people who are purposefully not paying think it's about to drop off their report, meanwhile it's never been to collections yet, so the 7 years starts from the day they send it there). It's a tactic used to get people to settle. I think this is how it works but that may just have been a dream I had once.
 

Noodleface

A Mod Real Quick
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IIRC it's 10 years, but I could be wrong.

Basically what I learned is to handle collections you want to get it in writing from either the collection agency or the original debtor that you will get a "pay for delete." Essentially if you pay this debt, it will be removed from your credit history. If they won't budge on that and it's in collections, you're better off just letting it run out. They won't take you to court over $56, and having it shown on your credit report that you paid to close it or whatever is actually worse for you because it will stick around longer.

7 or 10 years (whatever it is) from the original reporting of the debt and it has to be removed from your credit history. It might not automatically fall off though, so you have to contact the reporting agencies to take care of it.
 

Asshat Brando

Potato del Grande
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11 years to fall off your credit, the 7 years is the standard wait time for financing after a bankruptcy or foreclosure though that doesn't really apply anymore.
 

Noodleface

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11 years to fall off your credit, the 7 years is the standard wait time for financing after a bankruptcy or foreclosure though that doesn't really apply anymore.
Thinking back on this, doesn't the time for it to fall of your credit vary state-to-state?
 

Asshat Brando

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Credit bureau's are regulated under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, so no.
 

Arative

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
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I just got a collection notice last month on behalf of AT&T for $56...and the last account I ever had with them was 2008, the year I cancelled my home phone. They told me it was my final balance after canceling service. Funny thing is, it's not like I immediately moved and my mail didn't get forwarded, I still lived in that place for 2 more years after shutting off my landline for good. Moved twice since then, and now 6 years later I get a collection notice. Fuck, there's no way to argue against that, I don't have paperwork/invoices from 6 years and 2 moves ago. So I just paid it (to AT&T, not the collection agency). So I'm out $56 and creditkarma.com estimated that my credit score tanked by 75 points when that collection showed up, as it's the only collection I've had in YEARS, probably close to 10 years at least. So my otherwise nice estimated credit score of 780 is now estimated at 705.

Fuck. That.

Guess I'll see what happens when it updates again next month and that is gone, I just know it still won't bounce back to where it was, that info will be listed on there for years, but just as a satisfied collection/debt or whatever, which isnt quite as bad as outstanding collection, but still bad.

The credit system is a goddamn sham.
Actually you could have easily argued it. Just send a demand letter for documentation via certified mail asking them to verify the debt. More than likely what ever company ATT sold it too, couldn't prove the debt was yours and won't do anything but sell it to someone else.

It is also out of the Statue of Limitations for both Kansas, which is 3 years and Missouri which is 5 years, you can sue the company for putting this on your credit report because they should not be reporting it if it is out of statue of limitations.
So I would call the collection agency and demand they remove it from your credit report or sue them. Doesn't matter if you paid it or not.
 

Gadrel_sl

shitlord
465
3
Thinking back on this, doesn't the time for it to fall of your credit vary state-to-state?
Yes, it does. Each state has a term for open accounts to become unenforceable. Once that happens the debt can be removed from your credit by either disputing it with the credit reporting agency or, failing that, filing suit against the creditor for a declaratory judgment that the open account has expired.

Most states are in the 3-6 year range.
 

Ritley

Karazhan Raider
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Actually you could have easily argued it. Just send a demand letter for documentation via certified mail asking them to verify the debt. More than likely what ever company ATT sold it too, couldn't prove the debt was yours and won't do anything but sell it to someone else.

It is also out of the Statue of Limitations for both Kansas, which is 3 years and Missouri which is 5 years, you can sue the company for putting this on your credit report because they should not be reporting it if it is out of statue of limitations.
So I would call the collection agency and demand they remove it from your credit report or sue them. Doesn't matter if you paid it or not.
Is the statue of limitations made of stone or bronze?
 

Borzak

Bronze Baron of the Realm
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I applied for a loan earlier this year for some land etc...The lady at the bank who did my paperwork provided me a copy of my credit score but I'm not sure which one it was. I'm sure they did a full credit report as well but she forwarded the score to me just because I was curious and I've never checked it.