Foreclosure is unpleasant for several different reasons. Not only are homeowners forced out of their homes, but their credit scores suffer long after the banks repossess them.
In fact, a foreclosure can affect a credit score by as much as 250 to 280 points for up to seven years. That of course can become a major problem and inconvenience down the road when it comes to buying/leasing a car, renting a new place or even getting approved for a credit card.
It’s a horrible gift that, unfortunately, keeps on giving.
For the sake of comparison, short sales and deed-in-lieu are less of a drain on your credit. Short sales can affect a score by 80 to 100 points and deed-in-lieu is anywhere from 120 to 175. Clearly, it’s in homeowners’ best interests to try and short sale or sell their homes by some other means before losing them to foreclosure altogether.
The good news is that a credit score can never drop below “0.” It’s also always changing — when credit takes a ding for any reason time is a reliable ally that helps improve the rating.
Of course, a person needs to focus on doing the things that will not make a situation worse for a score to get better. The key to great credit is to be educated on how prompt payments and buying behaviors affect long- and short-range financial goals.
Nationwide consumer credit reporting companies such as Experian, Equifax and TransUnion allow one FREE credit file disclosure every 12 months. The first step, clearly, is finding out what your credit score is and the factors that went into it.
From that point on raising your credit score is like getting into shape — it takes some time and there is no quick fix. If you are having credit problems it’s important that you speak with a professional about how to best go about repairing your credit — especially if a foreclosure is involved — sooner rather than later.
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