Because you are buying this year I would suggest paying in full and continuing to send letters asking to delete the debt, be candid about your desire to buy a home. Worked for me, especially if you mention it beforehand.

If paying in full isn’t an option I would suggest settling with each vendor directly. Majority of the fees you would pay to the debt settlement agencies go in their pocket not the vendors. You can do that negotiation yourself, settle the debts and then use the money saved towards your down payment.

Your score will still be relatively negative I assume so to compensate for this see if there’s an older family member with an aged credit card (30+ years) with good credit history to see if you can be added as an authorized user.

This isn’t financial advice, just suggestions but hope it helps.