# How long does it take for your FICO to improve if you pay off bad debt? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 7, 2005, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-for-your-fico-to-improve-if-you-pay-off-bad-debt/293409 "2005-03-07T19:12:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![newcrasher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b3f665/32.png) [@newcrasher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcrasher)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-for-your-fico-to-improve-if-you-pay-off-bad-debt/293409/1 "2005-03-07T19:12:12Z")
I recently got my FICO, as my wife and I are soon to be in the market for a new house. There are 2 old credit cards we sort of “forgot about”. There is about $1500 combined we owe, and we are paying them both off. How sson will my FICO improve, and will lenders have issue with the fact that they were just recently paid off? Yours… newcrasher ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-for-your-fico-to-improve-if-you-pay-off-bad-debt/293409/2 "2005-03-07T19:29:12Z")
> [@newcrasher](#): > > I recently got my FICO, as my wife and I are soon to be in the market for a new house. There are 2 old credit cards we sort of “forgot about”. There is about $1500 combined we owe, and we are paying them both off. How sson will my FICO improve, and will lenders have issue with the fact that they were just recently paid off? > > Yours… > > newcrasher Ok. This is a complicated question. First of all, paying off an old debt can actually cause your score to drop at first. There is some dispute about this issue, but I believe the more credible evidence suggests that it is true. It is difficult to predict how long it will take for your score to increase once you pay the debt, and there is no guaranty that it will increase. Second, lenders will look favorably upon the fact that the debt was paid, and most will not be interested in when the debt was paid. But if the payment causes your score to drop, it could disqualify you for a loan or cause the lender to charge more interest or points. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-for-your-fico-to-improve-if-you-pay-off-bad-debt/293409/3 "2005-03-07T19:43:49Z")
It depends on how old. I’d say skip anything 5 years +, and tough it out for 2 years. Sometimes- paying off an old debt keeps it on your record another 7 years. It’s not supposed to, really, but it still does. Generally, it takes 7 years for a "derog’ to go away. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2005, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-for-your-fico-to-improve-if-you-pay-off-bad-debt/293409/4 "2005-03-07T20:00:28Z")
This guy, for one, disagrees with me. > [@](#): > > Q. I am going to be refinancing my home in a month as of december,I have a FICO score of 643. I have had 7 charge offs on my report. I paid 4 of them off in January I was told that would make my score drop by paying off those. Is that true? > Anonymous, Beaufort, SC 2/28/05 > > A. > > No!!! Paying off old debt will only increase the score. [http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/business/personal\_finance/debt\_management/loans/ask\_expert\_front.htm?forumId=261&mode=display&action=&type=list&pageNo=2](http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/business/personal_finance/debt_management/loans/ask_expert_front.htm?forumId=261&mode=display&action=&type=list&pageNo=2) And I believe that I discussed this issue in an old thread with someone who works in the credit industry. That person disagreed with me. Fair Isaac does not answer the question, as far as I can tell. E.g., [http://www.myfico.com/CreditEducation/FactsFallacies.aspx](http://www.myfico.com/CreditEducation/FactsFallacies.aspx) But this article explains a lot of the issues involved and says: > [@](#): > > If a creditor has already charged off an account and sent it to collections, paying may not help your credit score and might hurt it. [http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/SavingandDebt/P59862.asp](http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/SavingandDebt/P59862.asp) Happy reading.