Just did an App-O-Rama!

[mountanddo]

Again, it really is too late now and the OP will have to deal with the consequences of this. I would be curious now what your experience will be going forward. Hopefully you will prove us all wrong. Either way as the saying goes "You made your bed...." Good luck! Please keep us updated.

[IBroke]

I do not want a signature loan because I would need to get a loan of about $1K, and would have to pay an incredible interest rate.

An "incredible interest-rate" on a secured loan with your local CU? That would be news to me. I'm paying just 2.6% interest on mine..
It's also a bit strange that you consider small amounts of $300 or $500 which would be required for a secured card to be an issue with your IRA.

I relied on info from this forum when I decided to apply for certain CCs. There are lenders that simply don't hand out CCs if you have a BK and others are specialized on BK (Credit One, Capital One, HSBC Orchard, Hooters, Best Buy). And if you think the little box you have to check on some applications are the deciding factor - it's not. They just don't ask for a prior BK because they can see it anyway when they run your credit.

[Logan]

I have a Discover and a Barclay card for general use. For all the single use cards, I only plan to buy something small and pay it off in a few months, thereby establishing that I have used, and have paid interest on the account. I am up to 3 cards - all I need is 3 more.

Paying interest is just throwing money away. My mid FICO after 4 years is 716 and I haven't paid a dime of interest. In fact, my credit card company pays me to use the card unless of course I don't pay it off every month.
Do NOT pay interest, just buy gas once a month and pay it off when the statement comes in the mail (or email).

[Logan]

I am unemployable, so I need to supplement the small income I get from teaching English abroad, or from SNAP, when I am at home.

Any cash I would withdraw from the HELOC would merely be that much less cash I would be withdrawing from my IRA. So when the time would come to sell the home, any cash that I did not distribute from the IRA would be there to be distributed at the time I would need to pay up any underwater position. The home does not have any mortgage now, and is valued at about $45K (was $40K when I filed for BK, using $35K of that for the homestead exemption.)

The banker who told you you needed 6 active credit lines to get a HELOC should of also told you you need a job to get a HELOC. A HELOC is a mortgage so you need to qualify the same way.
Logan

[JackBondLove]

Here's the problem: There is NO NEED for an app-o-rama to meet your goal - 6 active CLs. As soon as I had my discharge, I went to my local CU and got me a secured personal loan - TL1. The same week, I applied for a secured Capital One Card. Virtually anybody can get that. I even BKed Cap. One CCs and an auto-loan with them. So that was TL2. You could have targeted 2 additional CCs that were discussed here before which are BK friendly - like Credit One or HSBC Orchard. That's what I did. TL3 and TL4. My auto-loan was TL5. I was even able to get 2 old CCs through my BK: My old Plains (now Mid-America) VISA-CC and my New Millennium CC - in my case, TL6 and TL7. Now if the auto-loan doesn't apply to you, you can easily get a second secured CC from your CU as well.

The inquiries will fall off - that's true. But App-o-rama might also lead to TLs which might have a limited use. I prefer CCs I can use for every day expenses rather than being bound to a Sears-card. In other words, it's better to have a plan on WHAT kind of accounts you want to use rather than relying on random credit-approvals.

On the other hand, there is no need to fear 20 new accounts and tens of thousands of $$ that might get you in trouble again. Thinking that this might actually happen with a recent BK on file is at least as utopic as thinking app-o-rama is the best way to establish new TLs.

I cancelled by CapitalOne card because they would not relent on charging me the $35/yr fee. I have no auto loan, and plan to drive my VW for another 150K miles (which because I am rarely at home, I am only putting on about 2K miles/yr!) I do not want a signature loan because I would need to get a loan of about $1K, and would have to pay an incredible interest rate. I don't want a secured card, because I want my cash outside of my IRA to be as low as possible so as to be eligible for SNAP and any other benefits.

I have a Discover and a Barclay card for general use. For all the single use cards, I only plan to buy something small and pay it off in a few months, thereby establishing that I have used, and have paid interest on the account. I am up to 3 cards - all I need is 3 more.

As for applying to only certain cards, how do I know which cards will approve me before I apply? For some applications, I see a checkbox that says that I understand that if I have a BK, my "chances will be lower" (which I take as automatic denial), so I don't apply for them. If I wait until I get rejected to apply for more cards, by that time, the hard credit pulls will have hit the credit report, making the chances of being approved even worse!

[JackBondLove]

Also, why are you taking distributions from your Roth IRA? Are you at retirement age?

If you are solely getting a HELOC to be able to purchase a new home with the equity you better make d*mn sure that you are going to be able to sell that home for what you owe on the first and second. If not, you are going to be in deeper than you were before you filed.

I am unemployable, so I need to supplement the small income I get from teaching English abroad, or from SNAP, when I am at home.

Any cash I would withdraw from the HELOC would merely be that much less cash I would be withdrawing from my IRA. So when the time would come to sell the home, any cash that I did not distribute from the IRA would be there to be distributed at the time I would need to pay up any underwater position. The home does not have any mortgage now, and is valued at about $45K (was $40K when I filed for BK, using $35K of that for the homestead exemption.)

[IBroke]

Why is it stupid? I was told by a bank that rejected me for HELOC that I needed to show 6 active credit lines. I only had one (which was replaced by another, since that one had a fee that I didn't want to continue paying), and so far have added two from the app-o-rama. Now that I have a free rewards card, I have all the credit that I really need, and won't be applying for anything for 2-3 years in any case (at which time the hard credit pulls will fall off.)

Here's the problem: There is NO NEED for an app-o-rama to meet your goal - 6 active CLs. As soon as I had my discharge, I went to my local CU and got me a secured personal loan - TL1. The same week, I applied for a secured Capital One Card. Virtually anybody can get that. I even BKed Cap. One CCs and an auto-loan with them. So that was TL2. You could have targeted 2 additional CCs that were discussed here before which are BK friendly - like Credit One or HSBC Orchard. That's what I did. TL3 and TL4. My auto-loan was TL5. I was even able to get 2 old CCs through my BK: My old Plains (now Mid-America) VISA-CC and my New Millennium CC - in my case, TL6 and TL7. Now if the auto-loan doesn't apply to you, you can easily get a second secured CC from your CU as well.

The inquiries will fall off - that's true. But App-o-rama might also lead to TLs which might have a limited use. I prefer CCs I can use for every day expenses rather than being bound to a Sears-card. In other words, it's better to have a plan on WHAT kind of accounts you want to use rather than relying on random credit-approvals.

On the other hand, there is no need to fear 20 new accounts and tens of thousands of $$ that might get you in trouble again. Thinking that this might actually happen with a recent BK on file is at least as utopic as thinking app-o-rama is the best way to establish new TLs.

[IBroke]

Perhaps you were turned down for some/have to wait for some because they think it is fraudulent activity?

In the unlikely case the OP applied for all 25 the same day, the creditors wouldn't be able to see all these applications because they don't appear 'til the next day. But other than that, I wouldn't recommend an "app-o-rama" either.

[soccerguy]

Why is it stupid? I was told by a bank that rejected me for HELOC that I needed to show 6 active credit lines. I only had one (which was replaced by another, since that one had a fee that I didn't want to continue paying), and so far have added two from the app-o-rama. Now that I have a free rewards card, I have all the credit that I really need, and won't be applying for anything for 2-3 years in any case (at which time the hard credit pulls will fall off.)

why?
because you are applying with creditors that are VERY BK UNFRIENDLY

[Logan]

If you buy a new home with a HELOC from the old home the new lender will use your payment on the current mortgage plus the payment on the HELOC on top of your new mortgage to qualify. If you make sufficient income then not a problem.

[mountanddo]

Exerpts from Wikipedia

Since many of these financial products require a credit inquiry and evaluate one's credit worthiness at that point in time, the object is to perform all applications at the same time, preferably when one's credit profile is in top condition.

-Having a Bankruptcy on your credit certainly doesn't qualify for top condition.

Those attempting an App-o-Rama must consider several important factors. Since most applications require credit checks, those who have good credit have the best chance of getting approved for the accounts they apply for. Many people who undertake an App-O-Rama prefer to check their credit score before applying to ensure the scores are high enough to provide the best chance of approval for all products applied for.

-Again, having a current bankruptcy doesn't sound like a great candidate for this type of activity. My guess would be that lenders will see you have a bankruptcy, see that you've applied for over 40 new credit cards/lines and deny you for that reason alone.

From what I've read, it seems like the app-o-rama is used more for someone with excellent credit to make money rather than to establish credit.

Common sense tells me that if and when you do get approved you will need to use each of these cards consistently and pay them off, in full each month. I believe there is such a thing as too much credit that is not being used as well. Lenders tend to shy away from someone that has thousands of dollars in available credit.

Now depending on when you filed Bankruptcy, you might be ok because lenders might see that you can't file for another xx years.

You previously had posted that you were in debt to at least the tune of 140k in credit cards before you filed. That's a lot of credit card debt for anyone no matter what you bring home.

Also, why are you taking distributions from your Roth IRA? Are you at retirement age?

If you are solely getting a HELOC to be able to purchase a new home with the equity you better make d*mn sure that you are going to be able to sell that home for what you owe on the first and second. If not, you are going to be in deeper than you were before you filed.

Nevertheless, it is too late as you've already gone ahead and did it. It puzzles me that being a member of this forum that you would not get some opinions here before you did such a thing. I would hate to see new members think that this is a good idea. There are a lot of people that come here that know nothing about credit and Bankruptcy, *me included*.

[jetsfan2010]

Very interesting...

To the OP point, a family member of mine is a mortgage lender, and advised me that post BK, you tend to fair better with at least 4-6 tradelines reestablished and reporting from discharge. There wasn't a magic timeframe of how long to wait before starting the rebuilding, but the sooner the better. Knowing that ideally you will have to be 3 years post BK discharge before buying a home, starting at least 6 months post BK is what works for most, so that by the time the 3 year mark comes along, they have at least 4 with approx. 2 years pay history(presumably perfect pay history).

Rental history(though it doesnt report to your credit bureau, will be one that will be viewed)
car loan
2 credit cards
student loan

thats just an example of what he said he has seen and been able to get approved with all of those of course showing on time every time post BK

[JackBondLove]

most of those credit apps will result in denial
what a stupid move

Why is it stupid? I was told by a bank that rejected me for HELOC that I needed to show 6 active credit lines. I only had one (which was replaced by another, since that one had a fee that I didn't want to continue paying), and so far have added two from the app-o-rama. Now that I have a free rewards card, I have all the credit that I really need, and won't be applying for anything for 2-3 years in any case (at which time the hard credit pulls will fall off.)

[JackBondLove]

Update: Got rejected from the following that are aligned with GE, for the reason of:

BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDING, CREDIT COUNSELING OR CREDITOR SETTLEMENT

They are:

Paypal

Chevron & Texaco

Amazon

Lowes

[soccerguy]

I chose just about any merchant that I thought I might have a chance of buying something from.

Here's the list:


APPLIED, BUT HAVE NOT RECEIVED DECISION YET

Amazon

Shell

Exxon

Chevron & Texaco

Home Depot

Lowes

LL Bean

US Bank

Eddie Bauer

Goodyear

J Crew

Kohl's

Macy*s

National Ski Patrol

OfficeMax

Conoco

PNC

RadioShack

Sears

Staples

US Bank


STILL NEED TO APPLY VIA THE PHONE B/C OF TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES ON WEBSITE

JC Penney

Superfleet


NEED TO APPLY VIA MAIL:

Target


CREDIT CARDS APPROVED:

Discover

Firestone


CREDIT CARDS REJECTED:

Best Buy - HAD BEEN OFFERED A CARD WITH ANNUAL FEE, BUT TURNED IT DOWN

Paypal


DID NOT APPLY FOR B/C OF BK: (I.E., THERE WAS SOMETHING ON THE APPLICATION THAT ASKED IF I HAD FILED FOR BK, WHICH I PRESUMED MEANT A BIG NO!)

BP

Chase Freedom

Banana Republic

PNC

most of those credit apps will result in denial
what a stupid move