Settling Judgment on Credit Report

[bevo_daddy]

So I had my credit report ran last week and apparently there is a $1,500 judgement that I owe some apartment complex from 2 years ago. Now I admit I probably didnt give ample notice that I was moving out but was never notified by the complex that i would be charged this insane amount which equals about half of the total rent i paid the whole time i was there. also never came up during the last two apartments i lived in.

I obviously am going to contact them and try to resolve this but ive heard that people will usually settle for less in these situations. Any advice?

 

[Holden]

At present, you have 5 years before this falls off your credit. If you renegotiate, you start the clock all over and have 7 years.

More than likely, this has been written off and is in the hands of a collection ageny - if that is the case, then the settlement is most likely going to the CA.

Unless another creditor is requiring you to pay that debt, I would just wait it out.

FYI - judgment does not have an "e" after the "g". I found this out the hard way.

 

[bevo_daddy]

So after 5 years it will not show up on my credit report?

What if I settle for say like $300? That wouldnt erase it?

I havent been contacted by any CA but I am renting a house (which is why the report was ran) and since that was on there it increased my deposit by $500. Not a big deal but I just want it gone

 

[scottsins]

contact the people that you actually owe the $$$ to, the apt. company. tell them you would like to discuss resolving this debt. tell them that you will not settle at all, unless they will update your credit with a "pay as agreed" notation.

*** you use the term "judgment" in your post. how do you know it is a judgment? if it is, not sure how to get rid of that, since that would indicate that you were actually sued for that $$$ and a court awarded the j'ment.

 

[bevo_daddy]

I only use the word judgment becuase that's what the realtor called it. By his explanation I just took it to mean that I owe them money. I don't know much about this type of stuff.

 

[Bookman]

A judgment means a lawsuit was filed, you were served with the lawsuit (somehow) and a court determined that you owed the money.

 

[KC-97HORN]

yeah this is a major thing, if its a judgment, and you were judged against, you are in real trouble.

Interest can and does accrue on those amounts.

And if its actually a judgment and not just a collection, you are required to pay that judgment. A collection is different, you may or may not owe that amount.

But by law a judgment levied against you says a court had enough evidence to prove you owed that amount.

When i did mortgages, seeing a judgment on the credit report almost immediately killed the loan. That interest amount is killer.

I remember one guy who had a 6 year old $35k judgment put against him by the ex business partner. When we called for the payoff amount the payoff including attorney fees and interest was over $110k Almost 3 times what was originally owed- shot that deal to hell real quick

 

[BattleshipTexas]

Yeah, you need to know whether it is a "judgment" or not. Big difference, but don't believe the collection agency, demand proof. name of the court, copies of the court papers, etc.

 

[Smurfette]

I had something similar happen to me years and years ago for like $350-- when I was a college kid and that was way more money than I had. Two years after I moved out they decide to sell the account and make a buck, and next thing you know I've got collection agency crawling down my butt. I spoke to a lawyer, who saw that they didn't follow procedure, and as soon as they realized I had actually talked to a real lawyer, (not just said so,) they backed off. A year later, it shows up on my credit report-- even though it was supposedly taken care of.

Anyhow, it was a nightmare. It's gone now-- simply because it timed out.

In texas, they HAVE to contact you in writing within 30 days of move out to be able to keep any part of your deposit or charge you fees. But if you didn't follow their procedure and didn't leave a forwarding address, they can pretty much just send the letter to your apartment, assuming it will get forwarded by the postal service. If you didn't forward your mail, then it comes back to them and they stick it in your file, and they did all they had to.

Now, I don't know what to tell you if you broke the lease, especially.

These things have a way of haunting you. If you've got the money, pay it off. If you've got the time, wait it out.