Mid Score: 740 (can only get real #'s on First Union & Equifax) Experian doesn't allow users to see their "real" FICO (not FAKO) scores anymore.
With that said .... I was at 580 in early 2010.
I have zero debt (minus a personal mortgage), but my credit history is still quite young (I'm 26) I have $40k - $45k in revolving credit lines that I don't use, and my AAoA (Average Age of Accounts) is about 3 years.
I'm hoping by the time I'm 30, I'll be up to the 800's :)
580 to 740 in a year is great--you could be a guru!
What else did you do to improve it so much?
Thanks Jon ....
I was able to take everything I learned on myfico.com and apply it. With a little bit of luck, timing, and perserverance, I was able to get it done. Myfico = much like BiggerPockets except for Credit Repair. A wealth of great info.
Total Cost: $20-25 in paper and stamps and about $500 - $1000 to settle with several creditors. Nothing more. Letters were sent out weekly, and not once did I ever try and dispute anything on my CR.
DIY Credit Repair is soooo simple. It took me about 2-3 months of research before I started. Once I started, it took about 5-6 months to get all negative info off my reports.
The Things That Worked:
1) Good Will (GW) Letters
2) Pay For Deletes (PFD)
I encourage anyone who needs to clean up their credit, find a good credit information site like myfico, and get started. you'll be amazed at was a simple delete of a 30 day late can do ....
Thanks @JonKlaus (not sure how to do the @name on a desktop computer).
On thinking about my post from above, I would NOT do the Dave Ramsey 'snowball' effect (basically, paying off the lowest balance credit card first, while all others are only being paid minimum). His is not taking fico score into effect because you'll have high credit limit ratios on the other cards and that's a red flag.
796, purchased Equifax FICO. Never have been able to get over 800, even with perfect payment history, mix of account types, low utilization, low inquiries, etc, etc.
Probably the only thing keeping me from it is Average Age of Accounts. I wouldn't surprised if, when I retire and stop applying for mortgages, I pop over the line, and not until.