Fixing FICO Score advice

[Ryan Schwartz]

Hi All,

So I've always had a pretty solid credit score and thus never had to develop a skill set to improve my fico score other than paying things off and making regular payments.  My wife, however, is a different story.  I bought my first property by qualifying on my own, however now we will need her income to qualify to buy our second property.  Her score won't keep us from getting a loan, but it is significantly under the 740+ benchmark that will get us into the best situation with a lender.  There are several late payments and one item (a tiny medical bill overlooked) that went to collections and was paid immediately when she realized she had not paid it.  These are all 5-6 year old marks on her credit score.  After 7 years I believe they'll fall off, but is there a way to get the lenders/creditors to take them off before hand?  I've heard about good will adjustments.  Does that work?  I'll take any advice anyone has for me.  Thank you in advance!