Pre-divorce mortgage showing up on my credit score, but being paid on time

[Anonymous]

I was divorced in 2007, and my ex-husband kept the marital property.  I noticed on my credit reports that the mortgage company is still showing up on my records, even though I no longer have any title or claim to the home at all.  The thing is?, the ex has been paying very regularly and there is no negative reporting coming in from that quarter at all.  He has since remarried and now lives with his wife in the house, and has always been responsible with his credit, so I have no reason to believe these regular payments will change in the future.  Should I leave well enough alone?, and let that good reporting remain on my record?, or do I need to purge this?

I started with a score of around 598-600 around 18 months ago, and am now up to 650.  Working towards 725 or better.  I don't know how either keeping or removing this "mortgage" payment will affect my score.

What do you guys think?

[haulingthescoreup]

Unless the mortgage was paid off and re-fi'd without your name, you're still on it. The divorce decree has nothing to do with your potential liability on the mortgage.

If he's responsible (sounds like he is), it's helping you. It's a risk, though.

The fact that you have an open (and clean) mortgage reporting is probably helping your score. But you have to decide for yourself if it's worth being vulnerable to lenders if something goes wrong.

One scenario that would make me very uneasy: If he dies, and his new wife gets the house, you'd still be on the hook for any remaining mortgage balance. Presumably she would keep paying, but Stuff happens.

DXH and I still co-own the house that he lives in. We're waiting to see what he winds up doing with the rest of his life before selling or re-fi'ing in his name only. But our divorce decree stated that each of us would carry enough life insurance to pay off the full balance, so that neither of us would get stuck.

I'd say that it's too late for you to do this now, at least within the divorce, but I'd be pretty spooked.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like a gamble, but again, it's way too late to do anything about it now.

His mother passed away recently and he inherited quite a sum.  A Facebook remark he made recently was "looking forward to paying off the house this year."  I'm sure when the estate is settled and he has the funds, he'll probably pay off the mortgage.

Let's hope so.

I'm actually not too concerned.  You can't squeeze blood out of a turnip, and if nothing else, there is great freedom in poverty.  If they want to come after my 1998 rolling wreck of a car and my 18-year-old doublewide?  I'll survive.

Many thanks for the comments, though!  Very helpful.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like a gamble, but again, it's too late to do anything about it now, anyway.

He stands to inherit quite a sum in the coming weeks from the estate of his recently deceased mother, and he also made a remark on his Facebook page that he "looked forward to paying off the house this year."  Let's hope he does so.

Again, many thanks for the input! 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Sounds like a gamble, but again, it's too late to do anything about it now, anyway.

He stands to inherit quite a sum in the coming weeks from the estate of his recently deceased mother, and he also made a remark on his Facebook page that he "looked forward to paying off the house this year."  Let's hope he does so.

Again, many thanks for the input! 

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Hauling is absolutely correct.  So far your former husband has handled the mortgage responsibly and this helps your overall credit profile.  In the unlikely event things do go south, this will not help your credit.  Unfortunately, the mortgage holder still has their hooks in you should things sour -- regardless of the terms of any divorce decree.

One thing you may be able to do is ask the mortgage lender to remove you from the account.  This may require a refinance and that may incurr costs.  It might also be something that would aggrevate your ex-husband.  Only you would know the answers to those questions and can decide what is in your best interests.

Right now, though, consider yourself blessed.  Most others aren't as lucky as you are and end up having their credit trashed by the trailings of a divorce.   

[Anonymous]

From a purely financial standpoint, I suppose I am lucky, in a way.  We won't discuss other sordid details of the divorce.  I am just delighted that he is paying this mortgage off as beautifully as he has, and that he plans to zero the mortgage out as soon as the estate settles.  I'll take my blessings where I find them!  If nothing else, his own wish to be debt free is helping my credit rating.  (Now, if he KNEW this was going on and that this was helping me, I'm sure he'd rush right out to refinance, but I'm going to let a sleeping dog lie.)

Love this website.  You guys are the best.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

From a purely financial standpoint, I suppose I am lucky, in a way.  We won't discuss other sordid details of the divorce.  I am just delighted that he is paying this mortgage off as beautifully as he has, and that he plans to zero the mortgage out as soon as the estate settles.  I'll take my blessings where I find them!  If nothing else, his own wish to be debt free is helping my credit rating.  (Now, if he KNEW this was going on and that this was helping me, I'm sure he'd rush right out to refinance, but I'm going to let a sleeping dog lie.)

Love this website.  You guys are the best.

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That's probably the best thing to do. 

It sucks that anybody has to go through a divorce, but believe me when I say that you have come out better than most. 

Oh, and don't worry ... mum's the word!