Would it help my credit score to close my CC accounts b/4 bk?

[Brighterdays]

I just applied for one of those cards that you're talking about. First question was Have you ever declared BK. So I actually didn't apply since I stopped right there.

Guess what? I don't care. I applied because I would have received $30 off an Amazon purchase and then the card would have gone in the trash but like I said I discharged 100K so who gives a crap about $30?

Logan

Best buy is the same way. I am more interested in financing a house or a car. Orchard bank had some deals on getting a decent CC after BK. Small credit limit, but what would you expect?

I am trying to find out what credit repair service we used, but we did get a bk erased from all 3 bureaus. And yes it was her bk.

[Logan]

Guys, at the end of the day having a BK on your report is one of the worst marks. If not the worst mark on your cr. Anyone thinking about beating the system is just fooling themselves. The reality is that a number of lenders will not lend to you based on the fact you filed for BK. Some maybe never. To be honest I find it laughable that anyone, regardless of reason, is looking at credit scores after filing. You just filed or are filing for bk. No way getting around it.

It's on your credit report for a good 10 years I believe.

I just applied for one of those cards that you're talking about. First question was Have you ever declared BK. So I actually didn't apply since I stopped right there.

Guess what? I don't care. I applied because I would have received $30 off an Amazon purchase and then the card would have gone in the trash but like I said I discharged 100K so who gives a crap about $30?

Logan

[Brighterdays]

I just don't think some of these people get it. Your credit score matters. Yes, a bk is "supposed" to stay on your credit report for 7 to 10 years and does effect your score the most. Having been in the mortgage industry for almost a Decade, I can attest to the benefit of keeping your credit report as neat and tidy as you can, will definately help you get a loan. Lenders require you to explain(to their satisfaction) all derogatory credit remarks on you report. And yes the lenders want you to explain why the creditor closed your account( I have seen it).

If you have a 500 credit score w/out a BK, and I have a 650 with a BK, I guarantee you, I have a better chance getting a home. I have seen it and I have actually gotten people financed. usually 1 year out "was" the minimum you need to be out of BK.

Yeah, I have hit a snag in my life. I will get over it and Life will return to normal. Just because I am filing BK doesn't mean my life is over. I plan on using credit Responsibly, down the road. I will want to get a house, probably a car and 1 credit card.

[Logan]

Guys, at the end of the day having a BK on your report is one of the worst marks. If not the worst mark on your cr. Anyone thinking about beating the system is just fooling themselves. The reality is that a number of lenders will not lend to you based on the fact you filed for BK. Some maybe never. To be honest I find it laughable that anyone, regardless of reason, is looking at credit scores after filing. You just filed or are filing for bk. No way getting around it.

It's on your credit report for a good 10 years I believe.

I'm looking to buy a house ASAP and I'm 1.5 years out of BK. You're telling me that my credit scores are not important?

My scores are 698, 684 and 666 (Real FICO ) and I was discharged Sept. 07. I don't care about the banks that won't loan with a BK but I do care about my score for the Banks that will.

Logan

[shabam]

Guys, at the end of the day having a BK on your report is one of the worst marks. If not the worst mark on your cr. Anyone thinking about beating the system is just fooling themselves. The reality is that a number of lenders will not lend to you based on the fact you filed for BK. Some maybe never. To be honest I find it laughable that anyone, regardless of reason, is looking at credit scores after filing. You just filed or are filing for bk. No way getting around it.

It's on your credit report for a good 10 years I believe.

[jktrading]

I'm not convinced a "closed by consumer" is better than a "closed by credit grantor" if that is what you mean. Lates, collections, charge offs, definitely contribute to a lower score.

Since the BK is to remain for 7-10 years on your public records section, I doubt that someone looking line by line on your credit report would make much more issue on why the "closed by credit grantor" notation is on there.

As a purely score driven rating, I have never heard anything derrogatory about the "closed by credit grantor" notation. Again, anyone going in detail would see the BK anyway, and put 2+2 together.

BTW, you can close accounts with balances and not charge anymore. Then, it should say, "closed by consumer" on the reports. I'm sure they will ask why you are closing, etc. I chose to not contact them.

[deepend]

I received notices from two credit cards in the last month that my accounts are now "closed" even though there are (large) balances still owing. I use True Credit to monitor all three credit reports and got an alert so I checked tonight and TU is showing those credit accounts changed status from "open" to "closed". ?? Basically, charging privledges are revoked - which doesn't change anything for me as I stopped using them in Jan.

[LuciluS]

I
Anbody know if you can rent a hotel or car with a debit card?

Yes. I've made plenty of hotel, car & plane reservations with my debit card online and by phone. I don't tell them it is a debit card. They just ask if it is a Visa, MasterCard or Amex, the card number, the exact name and mailing address and the last 3 digits on the back of the card.

My back usually puts a hold on the account for $100. So if your funds in your checking account or low, you might want to call your bank and ask them what their policy is on out of state hotel or car reservations.

Luci

[Brighterdays]

I appreciate the info. I am just trying to get my ducks in a row. I want to weigh all my options (in both monetary and "creditary" terms(ha I just made that word up)) before I proceed. I may just say to hell with it and quit paying everything and worry about it after the fact.

Anbody know if you can rent a hotel or car with a debit card?

[Sham11801]

As to the closing my accounts. I didn't know if you could close them or not if you still owed a balance. I would just rather it say on my credit report closed by borrower rather than credit granter.




Unfortunately, it will not reflect "closed" until the balance has been paid off. CC companies will not close the acct if there is money owed on it. This allows them to continue billing you late fees, etc. If its included in the BK the status will reflect that after anyway. It wont matter how it affects your score after that, the BK will be the biggest determining factor.

[Logan]

Logan sounds like my twin seperated at birth. LOL
Loss of job(industry) is what got me into this mess, and my stubborness of thinking I can rebound back with another job paying the same. I was making stupid money as a mortgage broker. $10k or 20k in a month income was to be expected. Well not any more. Its like the bottom fell out. I went back to school to finish my degree in Bus Admin in the mean time.

As for credit score and re-establishing credit. I am not looking to go out and charge up my CC. But with good credit comes opportuinities. I would rather live on the grid than lurk in the shadows. I would like another house, a new/newer car. I don't want to settle for some 10yr old POS that takes constant $$ to keep it running. Plus most the Jobs in the financial industry require a credit check. yes a BK will count against me, but if my credit looks orderly and neat(not a train wreck) it will tell a better story to potential employers. If he has 2 applications in front of him with the same experience, who do you think he would chose? So a few thousand wisely spent now, will reap 10 times that amount in the long run.

So, to some yes it may seem like a waste of money. To me it may mean the difference of getting a job, or a decent interest rate on a house or a car.

Remeber, this is called a FRESH START. not live in a cave and never enjoy life again.

I agree. I discharged about 100K and I continued to pay my bills up until the end. I was given a new start and I hardly even feel like I had a BK since I haven't had any issues getting credit. I basically won the lottery when I went BK so I didn't consider paying the minimum payments on my credit a waste of money.

There are many here who have trouble getting credit cards and car loans and what makes them different than you and I when it comes to new trade lines?

Logan

[Brighterdays]

Logan sounds like my twin seperated at birth. LOL
Loss of job(industry) is what got me into this mess, and my stubborness of thinking I can rebound back with another job paying the same. I was making stupid money as a mortgage broker. $10k or 20k in a month income was to be expected. Well not any more. Its like the bottom fell out. I went back to school to finish my degree in Bus Admin in the mean time.

As for credit score and re-establishing credit. I am not looking to go out and charge up my CC. But with good credit comes opportuinities. I would rather live on the grid than lurk in the shadows. I would like another house, a new/newer car. I don't want to settle for some 10yr old POS that takes constant $$ to keep it running. Plus most the Jobs in the financial industry require a credit check. yes a BK will count against me, but if my credit looks orderly and neat(not a train wreck) it will tell a better story to potential employers. If he has 2 applications in front of him with the same experience, who do you think he would chose? So a few thousand wisely spent now, will reap 10 times that amount in the long run.

So, to some yes it may seem like a waste of money. To me it may mean the difference of getting a job, or a decent interest rate on a house or a car.

Remeber, this is called a FRESH START. not live in a cave and never enjoy life again.

[jeb]

I guess I am missing something but why would I even care what my score is? Having too much credit and using it is what got me into the position I am in to start with - I think I am smart enough to learn from that and not be interested in starting down the same road again - at lease for a period of time, and then very, very carefully. - jb

[Logan]

I understand that in some cases it won't help. Ie best buy. But I was able to get the lady done on a mortgage shortly after Bk. Yes she did have to jump through some extra hoops and had a higher interest rate.

As to the closing my accounts. I didn't know if you could close them or not if you still owed a balance. I would just rather it say on my credit report closed by borrower rather than credit granter.

Long story short, we use to clean up peoples credit in the mortage business, so in a couple of years they could come back. We used a credit repair company(cant remember which one) they charged about $300 to us and we kept what we chargeed the customer. They were actually pretty effective at taking stuff off the credit report. Even Bk's. I have a call into my old boss to see who they were. And yes I said they had Bk's erased off all 3(trans,equi,exp).

That is why I would like to keep my credit report as neat and tidy as I can. It is easier to repair, unlike some of the trainwrecks I have read about on here(no offense)

Life is like a chess game, the farther you plan your move ahead, the better you will be prepared for what happens next.

I'm going to back you on this one. I think not being late on any card will get your credit back faster and I had the same comments that you're getting when I posted a similar question. I have been approved for every credit card I've applied for and 2 separate car loans both with interest rates around 8. My FICO score dropped to the high 500's right after BK and bounced back quickly and are slowly rising.

I used to be a full time mortgage broker but I am part time now and I worked with quite a few Bankruptcies. I once had a Lady who had a Mid FICO of 730 less than 3 years out of BK and she never had a late. I had other clients who were also perfect out of BK but were 'trainwrecks' before and their credit still sucked.

When I went into BK I had a goal to be completely reestablished and to be able to buy a house as soon as possible. I am easily on that track and I feel it's because of never missing any payments.

Good Luck,

Logan

[Brighterdays]

I understand that in some cases it won't help. Ie best buy. But I was able to get the lady done on a mortgage shortly after Bk. Yes she did have to jump through some extra hoops and had a higher interest rate.

As to the closing my accounts. I didn't know if you could close them or not if you still owed a balance. I would just rather it say on my credit report closed by borrower rather than credit granter.

Long story short, we use to clean up peoples credit in the mortage business, so in a couple of years they could come back. We used a credit repair company(cant remember which one) they charged about $300 to us and we kept what we chargeed the customer. They were actually pretty effective at taking stuff off the credit report. Even Bk's. I have a call into my old boss to see who they were. And yes I said they had Bk's erased off all 3(trans,equi,exp).

That is why I would like to keep my credit report as neat and tidy as I can. It is easier to repair, unlike some of the trainwrecks I have read about on here(no offense)

Life is like a chess game, the farther you plan your move ahead, the better you will be prepared for what happens next.