When I was going through a divorce, my ex, who was living in our house, stopped paying the mortgage. He lived in the house 2 years, and then moved out the last year. The house was sold as a short sale in Sept. 2016. Now I live with missed payments on the home, and a recent derogatory mark on my credit report (1 year, 9 months). What can I do to somehow soften the negativity of this?
Also, while we were divorcing, I was barely making ends meet while supporting and raising our daughter. I've gotten my other accounts together. But this one hurts because it wasn't my doing.
@Anonymous wrote:Hi Claysmom,
How much the late payments affect your score also depends on what else is on your credit report.
You could try writing goodwill letters to the mortgage company. Besides removing negative information off your report, adding positive information will improve your score. If you do not have any type of installment loans then you can open an account with Self Lender for as little as $25 a month and they will not pull your credit. Many people think having 3 credit cards is also good for reporting. If you do not have 3 cards then you can open a secured credit card with a credit union by putting down a deposit. Discover and Capital One also offer secured credit cards. I went through a divorce that left me in bad financial shape as well. With information from this site my score has greatly improved.
Thank you for this advice. Right now, I have a Credit One Credit Card, a car note with GMFinancial, and Student Loans from when I worked on my Masters Degree. When I was struggling, I missed some payments on my student loan. I didn't know that the loan was divided into 5 loans even though I only make a single payment to Navient. And while we were separating, several cards became delinquent. As I said, I don't mind being dinked for my own mistakes. What I do mind is being punished for something I didn't do. Again, thank you so much.
