I have 16 Late mortgage payments on my credit report, what now?

[Jason H Orahoske]

I am in zero danger of losing the home I own, and am actively working to get ready to buy my first rental as soon as possible.  But... I have this nightmare to deal with.  I worked my butt off at a second job to drag my stupid mortgage back from 90 days late for months (divorce+job loss+housefire=TMI but now you know why) to one month ahead, but now I have 75% of my payments marked as late and don't know how the heck to fix it.  Will anyone even think about lending me money for more real estate in the near future, even if I have 20% down?  How long do I have to wait before I can begin this journey?  Heck, what if I just wanted to move or refinance my current place (which I do actually)?  This is stressing me out, my score is a 580 right now and I'm doing all I can to fix it, get my cash flow minimized, get a down payment funded, and start the search for the best deal I can possibly find.  What can I do?

Will taking out more credit cards and paying them all on time help?  Should I bother PNC every day to try and get some of those removed even though they are 100% valid?  Or should I just give up now and wait 7 years to even think about this instead of preparing every single day for the day I can dive head first into this world?  How badly have I screwed myself?

I'd hide this embarrassing fact about me, but that's not what this site is for.  I need to find some answers, so I might as well start with the mess I'm in and go from there.  I won't be in a position to even refinance my current home until sometime next year, and then I can begin the process of building the rental empire one brick at a time.  Could I potentially be getting into this a year and a half from now, or am I stuck waiting 7 like I have a foreclosure???

[Chris Szepessy]

Originally posted by @Jason H Orahoske:

Ok, thanks for clarifying.  No late payments at all on my credit report until at least February of 2019 (that was my last late).  I can handle that, I'll make extra payments to make sure I'm a couple months ahead just in case disaster strikes.  I currently have 2 credit cards that I pay in full every pay check and a car payment that I'm trying to refinance and pay off.  Would it benefit me at all to get any other accounts to show that I have many that I am paying on time?  It'd be nice if there were things I could do to get that credit score ready so that I am offered the best interest rates, I was wondering if that was something I could do to help boost it up.

It's great to pay extra on a loan/mortgage, but it's not considered a "pre-payment."  Whatever extra you pay on your loan goes toward principle for that month.  If you fall on hard times again in say 6 months, you're still going to be required to make the payment (in full) that month.  If you don't, it will negatively affect your credit score again.  Just something to keep in mind.  

I'm no credit expert, but now may not be the best time to apply for new credit.  With an already low credit score, the chance of being approved for another credit card is pretty slim and the hard inquiry will lower your score even more, although probably temporarily.  I'd work on getting your 12 months of on time payments for your mortgage and keep paying off your credit cards monthly.  Not sure how much you owe on the car and/or what the rate is or if you owe more than it's worth, but possibly selling the car and buying a used car for cash might not be a bad idea.  You could use that car payment money to save up for a down payment on an investment property when your credit score recovers.  Either way, you seem to be on the right track and I'm sure you'll get through this and be successful in the near future.