Okay I've been reading for weeks but this is my first post so I apologize for any mistakes/not knowing the lingo very well. We are trying to repair my husband's credit to buy a home in the future. We recently sat down with a lender at a bank and she pulled his credit for us. She said his scores are 526, 527, 523. (Not sure which is which) We need to get to around 640 so this week he is putting a deposit on a capital one secured card, then soon we will open another secured card and hopefully qualify for a Kohls card within a couple of months. The real issue is his debt, though.
He has a judgement for $3562 (We somehow were not aware of this?)
Auto repossession from cosigning for a car several years ago (ugh) $3548
$1127 from breaking a lease (she said not to touch this and wait to see if it falls off in October which will be 7 years)
$159, and $86 for duke energy (electric bill)
$131 for Comcast
$3209, $1593, $1201, $1037, $100 all for Allied Collections (not sure where the individually came from but this is also where the judgement came from and she thinks most likely some of those amounts are actually part of the judgement)
$3305
$2072
$952
$335
$697
$138
Most likely most of the above 6 amounts are medical bills but she didn't give specifics for those...just the collections company and phone number are what we have. All of the debts have already gone to collections...
She suggested taking care of the judgement asap and coming back in 8 months to see where we are. But this is over $15k in debt and not sure where to start or who to call or what to say. Should we try to settle on some smaller amounts (or attempt to have them deleted for PIF?) should we set up payment plans? Does that even help? I know she said we should end up with no more than $3000 in medical bills if we want a home loan. Does that mean the rest have to paid? She also recommended going to hospital where many of our bills are from and asking about grants/forgiveness. Any advice is so appreciated! Thanks in advance.
He has a judgement for $3562 (We somehow were not aware of this?)
Auto repossession from cosigning for a car several years ago (ugh) $3548
$1127 from breaking a lease (she said not to touch this and wait to see if it falls off in October which will be 7 years)
$159, and $86 for duke energy (electric bill)
$131 for Comcast
$3209, $1593, $1201, $1037, $100 all for Allied Collections (not sure where the individually came from but this is also where the judgement came from and she thinks most likely some of those amounts are actually part of the judgement)
$3305
$2072
$952
$335
$697
$138
Most likely most of the above 6 amounts are medical bills but she didn't give specifics for those...just the collections company and phone number are what we have. All of the debts have already gone to collections...
She suggested taking care of the judgement asap and coming back in 8 months to see where we are. But this is over $15k in debt and not sure where to start or who to call or what to say. Should we try to settle on some smaller amounts (or attempt to have them deleted for PIF?) should we set up payment plans? Does that even help? I know she said we should end up with no more than $3000 in medical bills if we want a home loan. Does that mean the rest have to paid? She also recommended going to hospital where many of our bills are from and asking about grants/forgiveness. Any advice is so appreciated! Thanks in advance.