DW also tried for the Bass Pro store card. Got a message to call a phone number to complete the app or a response will be mailed.

SCM

No real benefit except to increase available credit and lessen percentage of utilization.

SCM

So far, DW was notified that the Stein Mart MC and Old Navy cards were bot approved. One was %750 and the other $300.

SCM

I've got to get around to using some of the cards for $1 each at the gas pump. The GE cards are unlikely to be closed. They seem to keep them open for years, even without use. HSBC definitely will close for inactivity.

SCM

supercreditman said:I went into Experian after each app to see if the app I just did pulled Experian or not. Now that's a trick I haven't heard about...how are you able to keep checking EXP multiple times in one day?

Congrats on your recent successes!

Dave,

If you have a recent report number, it's simple. On the main Experian website page, there a link down on the bottom that says "Review report again". Click it, fill out the form that needs SS#, report number, etc, and you'll get a summary of your report. Click on print your report and you'll see the entire report.

Niki,

None of the business credit cards you listed there report on either of my biz reports, or personal reports. That's common. GE business ones, such as Sams biz Discover, Sams or GE Premier LOC, and Lowe's biz revolving do report to Experian Biz. My DNB report is very thin with a total of $9K in credit lines listed. I only have 15 tradelines reporting on my DNB. They are Wright Express fuel card, 5 commercial electric bills, ATT business 800 number bill, and a couple other small things I can't identify without buying a very expensive DNB report.

The suggested non-personal credit apps would be the biz fuel cards, Home Depot Business MC and Discover biz CC (but it won't report from what I've seen).

I'm not sure you want maxxed out biz CC's reporting anywhere. I'm really happy that my biz debt is not reporting anywhere. Yes, biz lines are needed to fluff up the files so the banks have something to go by when approving you, but if they all reported on the biz files, I'd probably have as much trouble as if they reported on personal.

IMO, the more unused personal I have to show them when they do their monthly A/R's, the less concerned they are that I need the biz line, and that I'm not trapped. You make it sound like you had them re-allocate personal credit to biz accounts you opened. I only did that twice, but that was when my personal credit was over $625K. Plus, in my amateur opinion, the more banks you deal with, the less dependant any one of them thinks you are on any one of them. CLI's when you're only dealing with 3 banks is OK, of course, but I feel much safer when the banks I owe over $100K to see, dozens of other banks that I deal with, instead of just 2.

I don't recall now, but I thought I put which bureau the banks pulled on the first post I made on this thread, along with the limit at that time. If I didn't I'll try to whip up a short list, but it would help to know if you're on the east coast, since I'm in Pa, and Pa is out of the service area of many of the banks I would have wanted to apply with.

HNY,

SCM

supercreditman said: Both pulled EQ and the inq's are "investigated".

SCM
I just don't get that part, Maybe I missed something in your thread but how/why do you investigate an inquiry that you approved to be done?

supercreditman said:If you have a recent report number, it's simple. On the main Experian website page, there a link down on the bottom that says "Review report again". Click it, fill out the form that needs SS#, report number, etc, and you'll get a summary of your report. Click on print your report and you'll see the entire report.Thanks SCM. I've used that method before with no problems. What I didn't know was that this can actually be updated (as opposed to simply being reposted) multiple times in one day.

I must admit this is a fascinating thread having read through it from the beginning just now. That being said, I don't think I can handle the administrative load and stress of this many creditors nor do I personally have any need for these credit lines. Still... informative and interesting story. thx for sharing the data.

MarketVViz said:Supercreditman - I predict all the credit in the world will not keep you from officially going under in 2007 but honestly I do wish you the best and it sounds like you are doing everything you can to keep afloat and not screw over too many creditors (and hopefully you will not default on the ones you have already defaulted on previously).

I think if you started fresh after this fiasco with whatever capital you can scrape up, and move to a better location, you will one day be quite successful.

Don't let the stress kill you. Thanks for the stimulating thread. Good luck.

SCM,

I hope I'm not too late to be heard.

Thanks for all the info you've shared. I always knew there was a way to win the credit game, and now I have a place to start. I'm in a similar situation as you, teetering on break-even and negative cash-flow month to month, and recently turned to CCCS (Credit Counseling) to find a way out, but quickly realized that going that route would be credit suicide!

I was just getting ready to click "submit" on an online credit app for an unsecured debt consolidation loan, but thought to check here first. I'm glad I did. My wife isn't much different than the others described herein, so I can relate, and I guess it's because some are better when it comes to spending on credit than they are manipulating and managing it. I guess the fancy math scares away types like my wife, and attracts problem solvers like most of us here.

I'm kind of lucky because I've recovered and learned from my credit lessons the hard way, back in the 80s, when I got in trouble with charge-offs and not having 100% control over my finances--I allowed a family member to use my credit to refinance property to invest and flip other property, but I didn't retain much control over how it was used.

Nearly 20 years later, I'm much wiser now, still derogatory-free, and just learned that my EX credit score is in the 720s! I thought it was stuck in the mid 600s due to high balances and relatively low limits.

Not to go too off topic, and because I'm grateful for the information you've provided, I'd like to share with you, and the group, how I would deal with some of the issues you face, although the advice I have to offer might not work in your area as well as it would work in mine.

I recall you said you have about 30 rental properties(?) worth about $2M but I'm not sure whether they're leveraged under some kind of blanket mortgage and/or commercial credit.

If I had that many properties that were dragging my monthly cash flow, I would convert as many of those renters to "owners in waiting" by using "contract of sale" financing. I've purchased 3 properties in the last 2 years using BT checks and creative financing, and I'm no stranger to getting a quick cash advance when I need funds to pay closing costs.

I've turned around and sold all 3 properties for full price or higher using seller financing, basically doing for the tenants what the mortgage companies might not do. Out here in the Western US, it's not uncommon to have up to a $1,000 difference between market rents and mortgage payments. So what I did was turn my would-be renters into buyers by having them agree to get easy, 75-80% Loan to Value new financing in their own name, while we take back a 2nd mortgage with easy terms. I took a house that appraised for only $213K and sold it for true market value, $235K, by letting the buyer obtain 80% financing, and carrying back 20%, and offered early-payoff discounts as incentives to pay me off early. If you have 30 or so rental properties, why don't you ask your (good-paying)tenants if they'd like to start owning the house, by getting relatively easy 80% LTV financing, and take payments for the balance, or finance the entire purchase using a "contract of sale." Heck, I let my buyers owe me at 7% simple interest with no payments for 3 years the first time I did this, and that has been my most profitable deal. With the early-payoff incentive I offered, they paid me off in 18 months! All those rental headaches disappeared because as "owners" they paid the utilities, trash and sewer bills themselves. This is an easy way to help the people you seem to care so much about, and dig yourself out of negative cash flow for good. Assuming you have enough equity in these properties, it should be relatively easy. They don't have to have very good credit, especially if you do the financing yourself (you take payments from them, you make the payments to the existing bank) or if they have 1/2 decent credit, they could qualify for 75-80% with relative ease. They could either make payments on the remaining balance, or you could defer payments until a later date, when, after making several installment payments, they could refinance and pay off the entire outstanding balance. With that many properties, if you converted just 1/3 of them, you'd have these Easter eggs hatching here and there as each pays you off, adding to your cash pile, and lessening your list of liabilities.

You might want to keep the better, high-quality, low-maintenance properties for yourself and your retirement. Now that you've shown me how I can raise more capital, I can see myself with a few more properties in 2007, which will lead to more Easter eggs for myself in the years to follow.

If you want a more detailed explanation, feel free to PM me.

Thanks again for starting this awesome thread. I hope to check back when I have a better idea of when to launch my own App-O-Rama!