Tell me howyou rebuilt your credit after discharge

[boomerang]

Right now it's very hard to get a credit card (I'm not looking to rack up debt, just have one to pay off each month..maybe 1 trip to the grocery store..to rebuild my credit). We were discharged last month.

Is it just still too early to expect anyone to extend credit? I applied for one that was for "bad credit" and was denied.

I would love to hear thoughts and ideas on rebuilding credit in post bankruptcy.

[sassiebaz]

Try a secured loan with a credit union...that may work....

[NowImDownInIt]

Count it as a blessing as those kinds of cards are generally traps. And check out the "rebuilding credit" forum under "after the discharge" for how others did it. Most of the people in this forum are still going through their 13. Congrats!!!

[magyar123]

There still are several more or less bankruptcy friendly credit card companies that will issue you cards soon after discharge.

[Flamingo]

You need to know that no matter how well you keep your credit in the years to come before that Chapter 13 comes off your credit reports, it will work against you when you least expect it. That being said, in this economy you may have a problem getting a credit card so fresh out of BK because even folks with excellent credit are having a hard time getting credit. Apply one or two times somewhere and if you get denied, wait several months and try again and during that time be absolutely pristine with all your other bills, mortgage, etc. as to paying on time. You don't want to rack up so soon after discharge too many credit inquiries on your reports because they stay on there for two years and they work against you. May I suggest trying Orchard Bank as they are BK friendly. Just watch the extra items they try to toss at you (insurance, etc.) and you will probably have to deal with an annual fee. That is a good start. WAMU was also BK friendly but they have now been taken over by JPMorgan/Chase so give Orchard Bank a try. Clean up your credit reports and keep at them every year because you may get something cleaned up but several months later it may revert back to the wrong information. We are over two years past discharge and still fight with all three CRA's now and again with trying to prove that we did not file a Chapter 7 but a Chapter 13, even though they have been sent the documents three (yes three) times over the past two years. It will be an ongoing process to keep your records cleaned up but it is to your advantage to do so and monitor it for any changes.

The only thing that will really help you obtain credit and improve your credit after discharge is time.

[tcauvet]

I'm a little biased here- because I don't plan on EVER borrowing money again, but I would say just be patient. For right now, just pay for things with cash, and use the debit card when needed. You can do pretty much everything with a debit card that you can do with a credit card (except go in debt). Monitor your credit reports, and make sure that when items are supposed to be removed, they are. Just give it some time. I think it'll be easier to get credit(if you really have to), when some of that negative junk falls off. The one thing I noticed (and I still have 3 years to go on my Ch 13) after looking at my credit reports, are that the positive items stay on for 10 years, and the negative junk falls off after 7 years (for a ch 13). Trust me, the credit card offers will come because they know you can't file bankruptcy for a while. There are lenders out there that will that don't just look at the score, but actually read the credit report. I think it'll mean a lot that you learned your lesson, and didn't just go out and rack up more debt after your bankruptcy was over. Good luck!