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My utility bill shows up as an installment loan on my report. I paid it to $0 and they updated it to paid/closed. I still have service with them, so I am not sure if this will show as open next month or just if I miss a payment?
My question is - if I have this closed installment loan as paid and continue to pay my bill on time - will a mortgage lender just view that as good payment history? Or would they still look at the same 2 year history and not consider that I paid off the "loan"?
@jbishop1001 wrote:My utility bill shows up as an installment loan on my report. I paid it to $0 and they updated it to paid/closed. I still have service with them, so I am not sure if this will show as open next month or just if I miss a payment?
My question is - if I have this closed installment loan as paid and continue to pay my bill on time - will a mortgage lender just view that as good payment history? Or would they still look at the same 2 year history and not consider that I paid off the "loan"?
Are there any late payments? Most utilities that I've seen don't report unless you're late or the account goes to collections.
Yes, there were late payments when the "loan" was open. But it is now closed and I still have service. Will a mortgage lender accept this as a line of credit still?
I don't think it would be viewed in the same way as a traditional installment loan, but I can't say for certain.
There are three general types of credit. Revolving, installment, and open (not to be confused with the term open when appled to account status).
Revolving is where you have a pre-approved limit that you use at your discretion, with the monthly payments revolving based upon the amount of credit used.
Installment is where you receive a fixed amount of credit, and your monthly payments remain the same until the debt is repaid.
Open is when the amount of debt is due in full upon billing.
Most utilities are open credit as opposed to installment. You did not borrow money, and your payments vary and are due in full upon billing.
If it is pay in full upon monthly billing, it should be reported as open credit, not installment.
No, I accrued a balance with DTE energy.
They have something called a shutoff protection plan.
They give you fixed payments based on 2 things:
- The average amount of your bill for 12 months
- PLUS the amount of what you owe divided by 12 months
So it is an installment loan. It's just that I defaulted on this a couple of times. I let my bill build up a lot and then applied for Michigan's THAW (The heat and warmth fund) aka public assistance. I am low income and recently wanted to BURY my debt with them, so that is how I did it. I was tired of having a bill that was $200 a month (double what it should be). Idk how they think anyone can surivive on $1200 gross income ($1000 net) and $500 in rent, $200 electricity. They are insane.
I have struggled with this company for so long and I'm happy to have that loan show up as closed/paid. Just wish they would have accepted to delete my lates. I actually do have a very good reason for the second consecutive late, as my worker screwed up my assistance by sending payment to the wrong company.
Sorry, just rambling now. DTE has been a pain forever for me. At one point my bill was over $1600. But I've never been shut off! Wish they'd grant some mercy. Should I GO THERE? They wont give out fax info and they weren't very nice on the phone either.
As far as i know FHA will use any info on your credit report So this should be ok for the three tradeline requirement.., But they will not want to see any lates within the past two years..