Laserfiche WebLink
Format Dynamics :: C1eanPrint :: http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/yourmoney/95141... Page 2 of 3 <br />-~~, <br />~ir,t y~~r <br />~~ a~iobii~ br~.~sEr L. <br />v`_3~ ~~~ ~ ~ ~~ I~tt~::,rr 'srtri~;!iru:..CCrtt <br />1/14/2011 <br />more than a year rent-free, hopefully saving <br />that mon. ey to help them. get back on their <br />feet. This could amount to thousands of <br />dollars. <br />Housing counselors say that most clients <br />have credit scores in the basement already. <br />"If you've got a poor credit score and are <br />doing a short sale to preserve your credit, it's <br />ridiculous," Williams said. And it's happening <br />"every, every, every day." <br />Lf you're having mortgage trouble, seek help <br />right away from a housing counselor or an <br />attorney. Realtors are the go-to <br />professionals to learn about the local <br />housing market and what it takes to sell your <br />home. But they aren't credit experts, and I'd <br />get a second opinion if anyone is telling you <br />that a short sale will save your score. And <br />don't pay someone a lot of money if they <br />promise to quickly rehab your credit score <br />after foreclosure. Credit scores are forgiving <br />-- over time. <br />'A major hit' <br />Both FICO and its credit scoring competitor <br />VantageScore have released estimates for <br />what happens to consumers' credit scores <br />when they make mortgage missteps. In the <br />VantageScore study, a homeowner with an <br />otherwise clean record who then has a short <br />sale sees their credit score drop between <br />1.20 and 130 points (on a scale of 501.-990) <br />compared with between 130 and 140 points <br />if the same homeowner ends up in <br />foreclosure. <br />For a homeowner whose credit report is rife <br />with late payments on everything from credit <br />cards to car loans, a short sale would ding t <br />hem for between 15 to 25 points compared <br />with between 10 and 20 points for a <br />foreclosure. Customers with. rotten scores <br />will see smaller point drops than someone <br />whose score is good, because the score <br />already has taken into account the lower- <br />scoring customer's risky behavior and <br />adjusted the score downward. <br />FICO's example found short sales and <br />foreclosures will set you back between 140 <br />and 160 points if your credit score is a <br />respectable 780 (on a scale of 300 to 850}, or <br />between 85 and 1.05 points if your credit is <br />680. <br />Even if you. do your homework, you. <br />ultimately can't control how your housing <br />woes are reported to the credit bureaus. For <br />example, mortgage servicers may report your <br />situation to the credit bureaus using different <br />codes that could be interpreted more or less <br />Advertisement <br />..i <br />.- <br />:. <br />~n, <br />.,~ t c~~wt{~. w~c~z~~ <br />., <br />.M. „~ ~ t~w..:.T a t..:=asr~ _,°ci~~;~-~'r"d~~.ztsri, ro~..<.•,•...~:rr rfi'~~'T~tI~;"~e~~~.~01~1~ <br />z~b~z - rr <br />http://www. startribune.com/templates/fdcp? 1295023131715 <br />