I need to pay off one remaining item in my Credit Bureas and it is a default judgment in FL for $2500. Where to start? Do i contact the agency who got the defualt judgment (credit card debt) against me in writing to ask if they would be willing to negotiate a payment for less? Do i let them offer me first? Can i also ask that they agree to remove the judgment from the CB's after it is paid in full? Is this possible? The judgment was entered in 2009. I want to buy a house. The mortgage company said i MUST pay off this judgment before i can get a mortgage and it must be updated with all 3 CB's. Where do i start?
First of all, were you properly served for this lawsuit and chose to ignore it, or did you never receive proper notice? If the answer is that you were NOT properly served, then I'd look into having the judgment vacated, which WILL remove it from your credit reports. If the answer is that you were properly served, but decided not to fight it, then you should contact the law firm who originally sued you (listed as Plaintiff on the original complaint, which you can obtain from the court if you no longer have it) and try to arrange a settlement. Be advised that if you pay off or settle the judgment, it will not disappear from your credit reports--it will merely be updated as a paid judgment, which is just as damaging to your credit scores. Therefore, it is possible that you could waste up to $2500 paying this off, and still not be approved for a mortgage!
Once someone has a judgement, it's rare that they'll accept less than the amount of the judgement, because the courts have ruled that that is the amount that's owed. B: They did say that the mortgage lender is saying that they want it to be updated as "PAID" so as long as the judgement gets updated on all three reports, it should go through.
If you credit score is lowered because you paid off your judgement you can always increase your credit score by adding an authorized user account. Just ask a family member or a friend to add you as an authorized user to one of their existing credit card accounts. Just make sure the card has perfect payment history and they are able to maintain a low balance (10% or less of credit limit). The higher the credit limit and the longer the payment history the bigger the boost in your credit score. Thanks! Heather with BoostMyScore.NET
