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What happens to a judgement after it is paid?

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valley_man0505
Established Contributor

What happens to a judgement after it is paid?

Well, since I am being sued, I am weighing my options to either settle out of court or take the chance to fight it since they may not have the necessary documentation and I THINK the amount they are asking for is way more than what I owe.  If I fight it and lose, what happens to the judgement after I pay it off?  Does it still stay on my CR's?  If I could have the judgement removed from my credit report after paying, it wouldn't be such a risk to go to court.  But, if this judgement is going to stay there for years even after paying, it could really hurt me--especially since I plan to buy a house next year.  I will never get an FHA loan with a recent judgement on my reports.
Message 1 of 8
7 REPLIES 7
brownee
Frequent Contributor

Re: What happens to a judgement after it is paid?

Judgements generally stay for 7 years, I believe. Paid or unpaid. You could get the OC to vacate it perhaps.
7/7/09 TU: 630 EQ: 638 EX: ??
4/3/09 TU: 599 EQ: 606 EX: ??
Message 2 of 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What happens to a judgement after it is paid?

A recent judgement will keep you from FHA and FHA rewuires judgements to be paid I believe (I could be wrong on this though)
 
Also, whenever you end up getting sued for a debt it will be a lot more than the orignal amount due to interest amounts and lawyers fees.  Sometimes the amount can almost double.  If you call now, you can probably settle it for the inital balance or even lower.  Once it is a judgement, they can attemp to garnish wages, etc.  It is a VERY large risk to not settle this one particularly if you are trying to buy a house in the next 24 months.
Message 3 of 8
niecey89
Frequent Contributor

Re: What happens to a judgement after it is paid?

Well I had a judgement (they put a lien on my bank accounts (wiped me clean)) from Discover. I went to court and made arrangements for a certain amount every month. Some months I paid a little extra (fees). It took about 2-3 years to pay off (got a refund for over paying). Once it was paid off Lawyers office sent a letter of dismissal in turn i forwarded it to the courts. It was sent back with judge's signature and stamp. Then sent to credit bureaus, TU removed it from my credit report, EX and EQ shows that it was paid and closed date of case.
FICO Scores 7/15/2008: EQ 600, TU 546, EX 490
9/17/08 - TU 571,12/17/08 649,3/16/09 638, 6/14 642
ScoreWatch 12/17/08 EQ 646, 1/2/ 09 664, 2/2/09 684,2/12/09 673, 2/16/09 688, 2/27 674,3/3 682,4/16 685, 6/28 679
1/2/09 EX 668 2/13/09 669
AS of NOV08 I am Credit card debit free. I AM A MYFICO.COM ADDICTED Smiley Happy ~
Message 4 of 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What happens to a judgement after it is paid?

I got a summons one time for a loan. I called them up and made arrangements to pay the amount they wanted.
 
This did NOT appear as a judgment on my record; however, I am stuck with a Charge Off on my report for a while. It's bad but not as bad as a judgment.
 
I hope this helps.
 
S
Message 5 of 8
makeynik
Regular Contributor

Re: What happens to a judgement after it is paid?

Well I had a judgement (they put a lien on my bank accounts (wiped me clean)) from Discover. I went to court and made arrangements for a certain amount every month. Some months I paid a little extra (fees). It took about 2-3 years to pay off (got a refund for over paying). Once it was paid off Lawyers office sent a letter of dismissal in turn i forwarded it to the courts. It was sent back with judge's signature and stamp. Then sent to credit bureaus, TU removed it from my credit report, EX and EQ shows that it was paid and closed date of case.

Can you go into detail about sending it to court...? did you mail or go down and pay, etc? I had a lawyer send me a dismissal, but I haven't done anything with it yet...
6/30/08 TU 441 EQ 425 EX 513
8/01/08 TU 499 EQ 488 EX 489
8/23/08 EQ 556
9/04/08 EQ 567
11/14/08 TU 531, EQ 582, EX 509
12/29/08 EQ 620 (yea!) EX 546 TU 555
1/17/2009 TU 568 EQ 620 EX 584, 4/15/09 TU 506, EQ 612
5/24/09 TU 558, EQ 646
Message 6 of 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What happens to a judgement after it is paid?

I had two default judgments entered against me a few years ago, both of which are paid. I recently got EQ to remove both, EX has removed one so far and I am waiting on TU.
Message 7 of 8
niecey89
Frequent Contributor

Re: What happens to a judgement after it is paid?

Once the judgment is paid off and the law firm sends you the paperwork stating that the judgment is "satisfied". Contact the clerks office or judge that handled the original paperwork. They will tell you to forward the original copies to the office (make sure you make copies first before sending) with a stamp returned envelope. If possible send it certified or registered (this way you get a receipt of delivery). The judge that handled your case will sign off and stamp with raised seal. It takes a few weeks by the time you get it back.

Depending on your court system you can go down there but it is not guaranteed that a judge will sign that day. I just mailed it. Well i did not have to pay anything except for the certified notification. Make sure you call the courts just in case they require a processing fee.
FICO Scores 7/15/2008: EQ 600, TU 546, EX 490
9/17/08 - TU 571,12/17/08 649,3/16/09 638, 6/14 642
ScoreWatch 12/17/08 EQ 646, 1/2/ 09 664, 2/2/09 684,2/12/09 673, 2/16/09 688, 2/27 674,3/3 682,4/16 685, 6/28 679
1/2/09 EX 668 2/13/09 669
AS of NOV08 I am Credit card debit free. I AM A MYFICO.COM ADDICTED Smiley Happy ~
Message 8 of 8
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