The Effects Of A Foreclosure On Your Credit Report

By Tara Millar

How does a foreclosure effect your credit report is usually a confounding question. This is because Fair-Isaac Company, who started the credit scoring system, won't reveal these facts. What confuses the topic even further is that all the credit information reported is calculated into the individuals' credit score as it transpires. The credit score is updated immediately every time there is an inquiry, otherwise it sits waiting for some person or institution to get into it.

To receive negative information on your credit report with reference to a foreclosure, the homeowner must not have paid his mortgage or loan payment for 30 to 90 days. So to begin with, his score is decreased by the delayed payments. Regularly, the homeowner is also late on other bills because of his monetary dilemma and has additional late payments, collections, or judgments. Therefore, if he had his credit pulled on a certain date before he began his personal financial plunge, he would have seen one score (i.e. 680). The next time he pulls his credit report, after he has been served with his foreclosure notification or even after the foreclosure is concluded; he sees his new score (i.e. 450). He might be shocked and saddened, in particular, when he grasp just how much more interest the lenders desire because of his low credit score. For example, an auto loan to an "A+" credit customer could possibly be 0% interest while for a "D" credit customer, perhaps 11% or higher. What does that truly mean? It means that the "D" credit individual will pay $5,500 to $8,000 more for the same car as the "A" credit buyer! The collateral for the loan is similar car, so the "D" credit person is wrongly penalized for his credit situation.

Your credit score "before and after" the foreclosure is no definite answer regarding how much the foreclosure has damage your credit report, however it is an indication. Homeowners tend to deem that after they have had a foreclosure they can never buy a property again. This is absolutely untrue, as we see people acquiring homes within a year of losing their previous home. They should pay a higher interest except their deposit is significant, usually 15% to 20% of the purchase price. However, this considerable deposit is often acquired from friends or family members and carried as another lien on the property. In addition, the credit score decline for the foreclosure is reduced as time goes on, until it settles at a smallest number after a few years.

The foreclosure's instant effects on a person's credit file are estimated to be about 100 to 140 points. The bigger impact is from the late payments on other bills, which instantly mount up. Completing a "deed in Lieu of Foreclosure" with the lender reports the same as a foreclosure.

It is generally regarded that a foreclosure stays on your credit report for seven years, but it can stay on longer since it is part of the public record, which could be open for 20 years. So check that when you do your credit restitution you have it taken off, if it isn't detached automatically.