What debt should I pay off first to help my FICO?

Hey, I've just been blessed with a nice advance from an entertainment company for 150k. I wanna get some advice on what debt should i pay off first. My fico is 430 and im trying to buy a house but i have some car repo's, credit cards and 1 apartment as well as student loans. Please if anyone has advice on how to turn it around cuz i have the money now to pay off debt. Thanks!

What debt should I pay off first to help my FICO?
Let's look at your specific question, "Which debt should you payoff first to help my FICO?"





FICO scores are based off:


- payment history (35% of your score)


- amounts owed (30%)


- length of credit history (15%)


- new credit (10%)


- types of credit (10%)





So, it really does not matter which to payoff first in regards to improving your score. More importantly, pay on-time and pay down debt. The other suggestions are OK in regards to which order to pay.





Save some of the advance for an emergency fund (usually 3-6 months of your expenses). Once you pay off a credit card, do not close the account, it helps maintain credit history. Your student loan might be tax deductable and probably has a low rate, just pay the minimum on that one.





One last point, it takes a while for your FICO score to change (months/years). Your car repo will stay on your report as long as 7 years, from my understanding and takes up to 80 points off your FICO score.
Reply:Pay off the car repo and credit cards first concentrating on the high interest rates first. Student loan debt tends to be low interest, and the interest can be deducted on your taxes, so you should continue to make the minimum payments on those until you get the other debts paid off and can use the money from those payments to pay off the student loans. Be aware that it may take some time before your credit score starts to improve anyway. Paying your debts on time will improve your score, but it will take time to show potential creditors that you are capable of doing this on a consistent basis. Considering you have had at least one car repossessed, you should be a little patient on this. Overall by paying off your debts, you will be be changing your income to debt ratio, but creditors will most likely want to see the good payment history before taking a chance on you. It may not make a significant change immediately anyway as time is usually what it takes to be able to change the score. Put the house buying on hold for a few months if possible in order to increase your score because you can get a much better interest rate if your score is higher. This will also give you time to reestablish your ability to pay for bills. You may have problems getting approved for a loan anyway even if you do pay off your debts right now unless you have a sizable amount that you can pay for the down payment.
Reply:You should pay off the credit cards first. Sometimes it makes sense to pay off the repo, but that depends upon the situation. You should contact the creditor of the car repo to see if you can change the terms of the deal. Talk to a Consumer Credit Counseling Service to help you come up with a plan to repay your loans. As for the student debt (I am assuming they are government subsidized), it is best to make the minimum payments on them until you pay off your credit card debt since the interest rate is lower than your credit cards.
Reply:Step one, make sure you have put enough aside for taxes. $150,000 for someone who is single is the 28% tax bracket and I'll bet they only withheld 25%.





Step two. Don't plan on buying a house for at least a year.





Step three, make a list of all debts.





Including ones where it's already gone through repos--at least you can get this to "full paid" on your credit report. Ditto for the apartment.





Get any debts in forbearance (say student loans) caught up.


Get any credit cards caught up.





If there is any money left, then go back and pay down the credit cards so that they are 30% or less or (great day) paid off. Do not recharge anything.





After catching it up, the student loan is a lesser priority. It won't go away, but if this is a government loan, it often has a generous interest rate, meaning that I would pay down higher debt rate amounts first.
Reply:From my point of view paying off debts through a debt consolidation company could be the best way. As they are specialist in that field they will help you plan your debts on the basis of your income and debts. They can also negotiate your debts with your creditors which can help you lower your debts. Thereafter provide with an affordable repayment plan wherein you would have to pay single payment each month.





You can refer to this site of a debt consolidation company http://ezconsolidation.com if you want.
Reply:


Pay off the highest interest rate loans first!