I am in such distress today. I just received from my mortgage loan officer the mortgage committment agreement which states I have to statisfy a $145 debt to afni FOR A VERIZON BILL I do not owe. Things are pretty tight as all of the money for the down payment is in escrow. What makes matters worse is that we are set to close next tuesday 9/11 AND they want this issue resolved. The debt is supposedly from a 2007 verizon acct I had and closed. I am 100% certain that I paid the final bill on the account when I moved from my apartment in 2007. I called verizon who has no information about the account. They just told me to call AFNI.. WTH am I supposed to do? HELP!!! I am freaking out.
Honestly, if it is just $145, it might be worth it to just pay it. You might want to try and negotiate a PFD, but if $145 is all that stands between you and owning your home, you might just want to resolve it. Now (and this may be an option, we will have to hear from some more experienced members of the forum) I know your bank says they want the issue resolved, but I don't know what that entails. If you are 100% sure you paid the bill, and you really can't come up with the $$$ to pay it, then maybe try disputing it with all three CRA's and telling your bank that you paid it in the past, it is a mistake on your CR, and it is in dispute. If you decide to take that route, I would maybe talk to the bank first and see if they will let you move ahead with closing if the account is being disputed. I don't think that you would be very happy if you disputed it, then the bank told you that you had to pay it and you wouldn't be able to because it was being disputed. Hope this helps, but don't jump the gun on anything. I would wait and see what some more experienced members of the forum have for input.
I agree that you may just want to get in touch with AFNI and pay this collection off. If you need to take care of it by next Tuesday, that's probably the only way to make it happen, and you might even be able to negotiate a PFD in return for payment in full. JWPJ's suggestion to dispute through the CRAs and let your lender know what's going on could work too, but my guess is they will not allow you to close when the account is in dispute. Underwriters are really strict these days, and they really don't like unpaid collections on credit reports that haven't been taken care of. Still, you should at least discuss your options with your loan coordinator/underwriter before making a final decision about how to move forward. On a side note, it worries me a bit that you're about to buy a home but an extra $145 is hard to come up with. You should have at least a 6-month emergency fund in place before buying a home, and I would even suggest having closer to 12 months. If you don't have one in place, start saving as much as you possibly can now. Homes tend to always come with a lot of unexpected expenses .
Hi there, and thanks for the response. Its not that the money is hard to come up with, we have put down about 22%, which is ALOT!!!! The fact is I dont owe the bill. So I dont see why i shold have to pay it. PERIOD! The mortgage company is having their credit dept run a supplemental inquiry to see if the debt can be validate with the agency in question. Lets see what they have to say. I really hate surprises and am more upset that its all so last minute vs, ok you pulled my credit in June and I am just now being held to this. ANNOYING!!!
I understand- it is annoying. Hopefully you get some good news, and please keep us updated on how things turn out!
