Posted on: 18th Feb, 2010 10:59 am
my husband and i are applying for a home equity loan under my name only for various reasons. my annual income is close to $75k, my credit score (through "vantage" which i believe combines all 3 scores?) is 741. we are seeking $175k loan on a new home we built. we paid for the land outright ($130k) and paid for the home to be built which is valued at around $400 - $425k. we have a private loan for $175k that we used to finish building the house, the rest we paid for outright. the home equity loan would be used to pay off this private loan.
the fly in the ointment is that there is a judgement against me for an old credit card bill for $14k. i was on a payment plan at the time with the cc company, but missed a payment due to severe personal hardships at the time - my father passed away suddenly and i was suddenly put in the position of caretaker for my mom who had advanced alzheimers. before i knew it there was a judgement against me, yet i had never even been served. i have contacted the bank/c.c. company and they have told me that it was turned over to a debt collection law firm (rausch, sturm, anderson, hornik) i have tried to contact them and have gotten no where.
the bottom line and my question is this: is this going to prevent me from getting this home equity loan? what can i do about this? i am willing to do whatever it takes, but need some direction since this law firm will not respond to me. please help -- i am desperate and on the verge of a breakdown because of this. the background is not only my dad passed away, then my mom did as well in the same year, and then within 6 mos, my husband was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and then lost his job. through all of this, we have rebuilt our credit and now both have good jobs (he is 100% in remission), ubt still this seems to be such a huge problem still haunting us.
the fly in the ointment is that there is a judgement against me for an old credit card bill for $14k. i was on a payment plan at the time with the cc company, but missed a payment due to severe personal hardships at the time - my father passed away suddenly and i was suddenly put in the position of caretaker for my mom who had advanced alzheimers. before i knew it there was a judgement against me, yet i had never even been served. i have contacted the bank/c.c. company and they have told me that it was turned over to a debt collection law firm (rausch, sturm, anderson, hornik) i have tried to contact them and have gotten no where.
the bottom line and my question is this: is this going to prevent me from getting this home equity loan? what can i do about this? i am willing to do whatever it takes, but need some direction since this law firm will not respond to me. please help -- i am desperate and on the verge of a breakdown because of this. the background is not only my dad passed away, then my mom did as well in the same year, and then within 6 mos, my husband was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and then lost his job. through all of this, we have rebuilt our credit and now both have good jobs (he is 100% in remission), ubt still this seems to be such a huge problem still haunting us.
Hi cwallace,
First of all Vantage score does not come as a combined score of all the 3 bureaus. The 3 bureaus calculate the score individually like the FICO Score. Experian doesn't give out the score to the debtors, while the other 2 does.
What, you can do is, if you still owe the debt, you can pay off the debt with the collection law firm. However, the judgment will stay on your report for 7 years, which may affect your chances a little.
First of all Vantage score does not come as a combined score of all the 3 bureaus. The 3 bureaus calculate the score individually like the FICO Score. Experian doesn't give out the score to the debtors, while the other 2 does.
What, you can do is, if you still owe the debt, you can pay off the debt with the collection law firm. However, the judgment will stay on your report for 7 years, which may affect your chances a little.
what do you mean by "which may affect your chances a little"?
Hi max,
The judgment will be considered as a negative item and it will reduce your credit score to some extent. If your credit score is lowered, it would hamper your chances of getting a home equity loan.
The judgment will be considered as a negative item and it will reduce your credit score to some extent. If your credit score is lowered, it would hamper your chances of getting a home equity loan.