Only thing holding us back are my judgements... Is there any hope?

[Anonymous]

I have 3 unsatisfied judgements still remaining on my credit report (well actually 4 but the 4th dropped off of the others) I basically have 4 on Experian, 3 on Equifax and 0 on Trans Union because Credit Karma's direct dispute was magical apparently.

Does anyone know if there's any hope in trying to settle these for less or if I'm gonna have to take out a loan to pay these suckers off before trying to get a mortgage (ugh) I have no other way to pay them off, they are around $2200, 1500, and 5500... so $9200, any chance of settling that for maybe half? I would go get a debt consolidation loan right now if I thought it could work, we have until May to find a home or we have to rent again (already spent $92,000 on rent at this house).

My credit has been the obvious reason, our scores are finally acceptable and we found a house but now this... Are there any other services I can pay for that will more likely than not get all of these removed or maybe settled for less or am I just stuck paying like $9000 I will never in a million years come up with? lol

So frustrating, especially when our dream home is right there in front of us for sale right now... so damn frustrating, I wish everyone was as easy as TransUnion for getting things deleted but unfortunately the other two aren't.

Any advice would be appreciated before I go try and find $9000 in the sofa.

[Anonymous]

You can always try and negotiate a payment for less to satisfy a judgment. Key word here is try. Nothing is guaranteed and your offer may or may not be rejected. Definitely worth a shot as I would find it hard to believe a lender would let 3 or 4 unpaid judgments for almost 10k just slide. With that being said, try to see what you can afford in terms of a settlement and if that is too much, then you may have to look for that consolidation loan to pay it off. Borrowing money to pay off others is not usually the best idea, but if this house is a must, then it may be your only option. Another loan and inquiry this close to a mortgage app may require explanation from an underwriter but if you can take care of those judgments, then it's not the worst idea in the world.

[StartingOver10]

Judgements need to be paid or vacated before you can close.  It may be possible to be in a repayment plan for a judgment (maybe) and not entirely paid off prior to closing- ask your mortgage lender.  Go to the top of this mortgage section and read what the stickies say about judgments and mortgages. 

What I want to mention is this:  it doesn't matter if the judgment shows on your credit report because the lender will have the attorney/title co check the public records for your judgments.  It is a good idea for you to look up your own public records (not your credit report) so you can see everything outstanding and handle it before you apply for a mortgage  It is good that you know about them so you can handle them prior to making any type of mortgage application at all. Much better than the alternative of going in blind. 

When you negotiate the judgment do NOT tell them you want to pay it in order to get a mortgage - they will stick to the full amount + accrued interest.  You want to pay them, get a Satisfaction and then make sure the Satisfaction is recorded so the judgment can never come back to bite you again.  In some places you can vacate the judgment if you meet certain criteria.  Check your state's statutes to see if you can vacate and if so, what is the criteria to vacate the judgement.  

Look up your states statutes so you can see how long a judgment lasts in your jurisdiction.  In many areas, 20 years is typical with a renewal for 20 years if unpaid and the judgment holder follows certain renewal procedures (not too difficult).  Other jurisdictions are 10 years with 10 year renewal periods forever (until paid).  Each state is different so make sure to look up your state's statutes.  You will want to take care of the judgment sooner rather than later.  

[DallasLoanGuy]

you would negotiate with each of them separately and hope for the best. 

i have seen them settled for less. usually not as much of a discount as you are hoping.

[Anonymous]

I appreciate all the responses and figured as much but wanted to hear if anyone had any other input... I am trying Lexington Law to see if they can clean it up at all, I know that service has about a 50/50 split on good/bad feedback but $99/mo seems like a small gamble to at least see if anything can happen, worse case scenario I lose a couple hundred bucks I figure and I'm desperate.

Even if they could remove 1 or 2 and I just had to pay the last one, it's something... those and ONE credit card are the only baddies I have on my credit file, It's really not that bad other than those unfortunate judgements I should have tried to solve years ago, at least my largest one dropped off last year or I'd feel incredibly hopeless.

Will keep updated if there's any success, not holding my breath but willing to try whatever I can before it comes down to $9000... We still got 2-3 months before it's serious crunch time on finding a new rental (I hate that idea so much)

Thanks again.

[Anonymous]

...Even if they can somehow be temporarily removed long enough to close, assuming they can't take it away after the fact.

I'd gladly get on a repay arrangement if that was the case later, assuming I already owned my home at that point.

[DallasLoanGuy]

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@Anonymous wrote:

...Even if they can somehow be temporarily removed long enough to close, assuming they can't take it away after the fact.

I'd gladly get on a repay arrangement if that was the case later, assuming I already owned my home at that point.

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temporarily removed isnt good enough.

we will still find them in the court records..... they MUST be 'satisfied'

[StartingOver10]

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@DallasLoanGuy wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

...Even if they can somehow be temporarily removed long enough to close, assuming they can't take it away after the fact.

I'd gladly get on a repay arrangement if that was the case later, assuming I already owned my home at that point.

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temporarily removed isnt good enough.

we will still find them in the court records..... they MUST be 'satisfied'

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^^^Yes, removing them from the credit report doesn't help you one bit. 

One of the reasons the lenders care so much about judgments is because they attach to the property you are buying and come in front of the mortgage for repayment.  This can impede the mortgage repayment if you had to sell the house as the judgement continues to grow in amount (accrue interest at the statutory rate).  It also impedes getting any sort of negotiated deal with the judgment holder as the judgment holder knows they have you over a barrel. Without payoff you can't deliver clear title on a sale. In any event, the lender doesn't want anyone to come in front of them when they are loaning you money for a first mortgage.

That contributes to the reason why the judgment has to be paid prior to closing and why it doesn't matter what your credit report says about judgments - it is what the public records say relative to judgments. Attorney's and title co's always check public records for the lenders before issuing an approval. 

One more point:  if you can't pay off the current judgments that you mentioned then you aren't ready to buy a home.  There are expenses in owning a home - maintenance expenses that exceed some of the judgment figures you mentioned. Make sure you are really ready before you buy, otherwise it will cost you time, money and effort and you won't be able to close.  

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the advice, sounds like I should cancel that service then before they charge me... the Mortgage lender I was talking to suggested that I take this action though which is strange, she told me someone might be able to clean up my report... If they'll still find it I guess the debt is really $21,000 then because there's a $13,000 that dropped off my credit 2 years ago but I never could repay it.

I've rented at a home for 7 years and made all repairs and such myself that came up in that amount of time though, I just rather not have my landlord come over and bother me as I'm very private about things so I'm pretty sure I can make do in home ownership, I don't have $9000 today but I could easily get on a payment arrangement to satisfy these but that doesn't help for 3 months...

I feel like "giving up" to keep renting is not a good solution regardless of all this great advice you guys are giving me, how am I supposed to ever get ahead and anywhere in life if keep renting and throwing away $17,000 a year on that.  Oh yeah, where I live a mortgage payment is less than renting too, so it's almost more of a struggle with rent prices the way they are, I can't find much anything under $1400/mo, has to be single family too (dogs, 3 kids).

There are two people w/ 2 incomes contributing to this though... I'm the problem one.

[Anonymous]

I have had people try and look up my public records before and they couldn't find the one for $13,000 I even called both of the county clerks where they could have been and they couldn't find it because I was attempting to resolve that one last year... so maybe if I just take care of the $9000 I might skate past that one if a miracle occurs...

It's too bad I can't just take out a Mortgage w/ $9000 more on the amount to satisfy the judgements at the same time, I was looking into a personal loan for this purpose or debt consolidation but that doesn't look hopeful, sucks I did my taxes and have to pay out $7000 now and can't even get the loan lol so that was a waste for now.