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Originally posted by itlain
Ok, lets see what advice you have for me. I thank you first off for helping everyone out.
Myself and my wife recently filed bankruptcy in Jan of this year. I had made quite a few bad choices with credit cards when I first enlisted in the army and ended up on the wrong side of a bad car deal. Together our debt was close to 30,000$. I know this isn't a lot but we could barely pay the interest payment each month on everything. We eventually decided to file bankruptcy. Everything was cleared. I voluntarily turned in one vehicle to not have to re-affirm that vehicle. We re-affirmed the debt on our remaining vehicle and paid the remaining loan off in 3 months (about 3500$) or so was left on it. We also re-affirmed a computer that we had purchased through Dell and paid that off in 2 months. Before when I had looked at my credit score it was in the bottom 2 percentile. Now, 7 months after filing it is around the 50% mark or so. My wife's is slightly higher I think around 650. I am currently deployed in Iraq and we are saving every penny possible for when I get out next June. I'm hoping that we will be able save close to 10,000 or so for living expenses and a down payment on a house. We currently have no bills other than the normal monthly revolving bills such as food, phone, gas and insurance. We haven't opened any new credit cards or had any loans of any type.
When I get out I know I am eligible for a VA loan but I am curious if this will be my best bet. We are planning on moving to the western slope area of Colorado where I know house prices can be a little high (100k or so). I'm just looking for advice on how I can maximize my chances of getting a good interest rate on a house loan or in general improve my credit rating. After being in debt once in our lives it is something that we have vowed to never happen again. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you
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Well, I would suggest getting another credit card, preferably 2 of them to begin building your credit. After bankruptcy, one thing that potential lenders look for is credit that has been established after the bankruptcy. Make sure, though, that once you get them you NEVER charge over 50% of the limit on the card, and if you pay them off in full every month you can avoid paying interested. It is important that you try to begin establishing credit as soon as possible, as you have a much better chance to get a loan, as well as improve your scores sufficiently to get a decent rate if you have good credit after a bankruptcy rather than no credit.
If you need anything else, just ask
