Bankruptcy Questions Answered

Is a 739 FICO good?

What’s a “good” FICO score? My wife and I had a chapter 7 bankruptcy discharged in 1997. Since then, I’ve been meticulous about paying debt. I’ve paid off two car loans (that were in existence at the time of the bankruptcy and re-affirmed), and I pay my mortgage on time every month (also pre-dates the bankruptcy). I have around a $5000 debt on a credit card (remnants of some business debt from years ago) that I have been paying at $500 a month (way more than the minimum and I’m not using that card for any new purchases at all), and another card that we use for day to day use (major car repairs, online purchasing, etc.) that has on average a few hundred dollars on it (some months I may carry a balance, others I pay in full). Both cards are “platinum” cards with major providers with OK, but not great rates. (The one with the balance on it has a “lifetime” rate of 3% on that balance–another reason I don’t use it for new stuff so the rate doesn’t change.)

Anyway, one of my credit card’s web site shows me my FICO score, updated monthly. In the past 12 months it has varied from 707 to 739. How does this rank as far as being “good” or “bad”?

I ask because we’d like to try to refinance our mortgage to get some equity out of our house for some remodeling work. I haven’t started shopping for that yet and I plan to pull credit reports from the big three for both of us to make sure everything is in order before I do.

I should also note that I’ve only been working full time since last summer after an extended time off (since 2001). My wife has uninterrupted work with the same company for 8 years. Neither of us makes a large salary, but we did make it through some rough years on just one income. Things are better now.

Now that you know everything about me, would you lend me money?