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John and Susan declared bankruptcy in January of 2004 and were discharged four months later in April. They were under the impression that there was nothing that could be done to repair their credit following the bankruptcy. They both felt as if they were holding their breath and waiting for the years to pass. In January of 2008 they decided to apply for an FHA mortgage.

They were not really surprised when they were turned down. The mortgage broker told them that their credit scores were in the 400s, but that he thought they should explore the possibility of credit repair. John contacted a reputable credit repair company for a consultation and was surprised to hear that there are many things that can be done after a bankruptcy to clean up one’s credit report.

John signed up for the credit repair program and provided their account representative with a copy of the bankruptcy discharge and the schedule of items included. The credit repair professional gave them some advice about rebuilding their credit and provided several links to secured credit card issuers.

He informed them that these new cards, as small as they are, have tremendous power to rebuild their credit scores as long as they are managed properly. He advised them that the FICO credit scoring model, in use by the majority of lenders, recognizes five levels of card usage – specifically 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 percent. He suggested that they open two new cards each and maintain the balances below 20 percent of the credit limit.

The credit repair company went to work on the post-bankruptcy clean up while John and Susan opened their new secured credit cards making sure to keep the balances in the range that the credit repair professional had suggested. About 45 days later they received updated credit reports in the mail from each of the three credit bureaus. They were surprised to see the number of items that had been corrected.

They contacted the credit repair company to review the results and after going over all of the details were thrilled to hear that the post bankruptcy clean up was completed. No longer were there past due amounts showing on the accounts that had been included in the bankruptcy, nor were any accounts listed in a collection status. In fact, their credit report looked so clean that they could hardly recognize it.

The credit repair representative explained to them that unlike other derogatory information that ought to be disputed in a paced manner to avoid being rejected by the credit bureaus, bankruptcy issues should be addressed all at once. So, much to John and Susan’s surprise, they found that that had already successfully completed their credit repair program.

The credit repair representative spent some time coaching them about debt management and the ongoing handling of the new credit cards. John and Susan could hardly believe their ears when the credit repair representative suggested that they consider reapplying for the mortgage in another five months, just enough time for the new secured credit cards to produce a positive impact on their credit scores.

And, so it was that in the first week of July 2008, only six months after contact the credit repair company that John and Susan returned to the mortgage broker and asked to reapply for an FHA mortgage. The mortgage broker was surprised to see them and even suggested that it was a bit soon for their credit scores to have improved much from the 400s that they had been in January. But when he ran the credit he was amazed at what he saw.

John and Susan’s credit scores were in the mid 600s, a full 200 points above where they had been only 6 months prior. The mortgage broker was thrilled to complete the application. The next day the mortgage broker called Susan at work and told her the great news; she and John had been approved for their mortgage and qualified for the lowest available FHA interest rate.

Last week John and Susan moved into their new home. It’s a beautiful three bedroom, two bath ranch on half an acre just outside of Atlanta, Georgia. John has already purchased a new grill and a lawn mower. A couple of days ago Susan surprised John by bringing home a new member of the family, a two year old Golden Retriever from the local pound. Yesterday they got on two phone lines in their new home and called their credit repair representative to thank him for his guidance and to share all of their life changing news.

Copyright © 2008 James W. Kemish. All Content. All Rights Reserved.

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