Can one attempt to clean up their own credit? 

Or is a Credit repair service best? I want to buy a house, my husband’s credit score is 750 and mine is 526!!! However we need my income too so we can get a bigger loan for the house of our needs not desires. So I need to clean up my credit! My student loans is what’s killing me. I have 10 late payments. I also have to cc’s that are write-offs and 2 items in collections.  I plan to pay off the cc’s and collections, then work with student loans to get that in good standings. My question is after I’ve done all this, how long do we wait before applying for a home loan? How long will it take to get my credit to reflect these debts paid off, and student loans in good standings (its not in default).  Any loan officers out there? *I know I F'ed up my own credit*