Off topic: I've ignored any medical bills I thought were unfair for 12+ years. It's probably over $10k in bills altogether. It's never shown up on my credit reports though (I check often and bought a house last year). So your results may vary. In the mean time I just throw out the debt collector bills as I get them.
Credit card debt collection
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Re: Credit card debt collection
#12Off topic: I've ignored any medical bills I thought were unfair for 12+ years. It's probably over $10k in bills altogether. It's never shown up on my credit reports though (I check often and bought a house last year). So your results may vary. In the mean time I just throw out the debt collector bills as I get them.
> A statute of limitations is the limited period of time creditors or debt collectors have to file a lawsuit to recover a debt. Most statutes of limitations fall in the three to six years range, although in some jurisdictions they may extend for longer. Statutes of limitation may vary depending on state laws, the type of debt you have, or the state law named in your credit agreement.
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/debt-collecti...
Someone in a similar situation to yours might consider researching your state's statute of limitations on debt, and if your debts are expired based on that statute, file a complaint with the CFPB, FTC, and your state's attorney general to report a debt collector's FDCPA violations. Not legal advice.
Re: Credit card debt collection
#13Off topic: I've ignored any medical bills I thought were unfair for 12+ years. It's probably over $10k in bills altogether. It's never shown up on my credit reports though (I check often and bought a house last year). So your results may vary. In the mean time I just throw out the debt collector bills as I get them.
> A statute of limitations is the limited period of time creditors or debt collectors have to file a lawsuit to recover a debt. Most statutes of limitations fall in the three to six years range, although in some jurisdictions they may extend for longer. Statutes of limitation may vary depending on state laws, the type of debt you have, or the state law named in your credit agreement. https://www.consumerfinance.gov/c…
If it ever shows up on my credit report I'll do that hah. Otherwise it doesn't affect me at all.
Re: Credit card debt collection
#14Earlier quoted context omitted.
> What should I do when a debt collector contacts me? Weep, because it will now be a good 5-6 years minimum before you can buy a house. Or, rejoice, because you didn't have a down payment anyway.
Depends on the debt. If they can be paid off prior to closing, this is not true. If they are a foreclosure or bankruptcy, the waiting period is 3 years assuming extenuating circumstances (Life Happened, not just "I didn't want to pay my mortgage"). Refer to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or FHA underwriting guidelines for specifics (lots of complexity here around non-QM originations, overlays, portfolio loans, etc so the a…
> FHA is 3% down.
That's true in theory, though in practice any house you would actually want to live in is going may have a bunch of buyers competing on it and having an FHA loan (or VA, sadly, or USDA) ensures your bid is in last place. However, there are some conventional lenders that will do 3% if you get approved for PMI.
And yeah, some creditors will do pay-for-delete in which case you may be fine. If you have more than 1 that won't though you may have a hard time, especially if it's not due to medical or something easily justifiable.
Re: Credit card debt collection
#15Earlier quoted context omitted.
Depends on the debt. If they can be paid off prior to closing, this is not true. If they are a foreclosure or bankruptcy, the waiting period is 3 years assuming extenuating circumstances (Life Happened, not just "I didn't want to pay my mortgage"). Refer to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or FHA underwriting guidelines for specifics (lots of complexity here around non-QM originations, overlays, portfolio loans, etc so the a…
> FHA is 3% down. That's true in theory, though in practice any house you would actually want to live in is going may have a bunch of buyers competing on it and having an FHA loan (or VA, sadly, or USDA) ensures your bid is in last place. However, there are some conventional lenders that will do 3% if you get approved for PMI. And yeah, some creditors will do pay-for-delete in which case you may be fine. If you have…
> And yeah, some creditors will do pay-for-delete in which case you may be fine.
Pay for delete is paying to have it removed from your credit file by the data provider (either the creditor or their debt collector). This is distinctly different. You pay the debt and provide confirmation the debt was paid. Whether it is still on your credit file is immaterial to close. It's paid? You close.
Fannie Mae guidelines, for example:
https://selling-guide.fanniemae.com/Selling-Guide/Originatio...
https://selling-guide.fanniemae.com/Top-Trending-Jun-19/1087...
(the guidelines are what makes the originated mortgages conforming, and able to be bundled for securitization and sold into the bond market; to understand mortgage guidelines is to be able to hack mortgage financing)
Re: Credit card debt collection
#16Wow, this was one of those articles where my eyebrow just kept on raising higher and higher the further into it I read.
Re: Credit card debt collection
#17https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-should-i-do-wh... (CFPB: What should I do when a debt collector contacts me?) https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-can-i-do-if-a-... (CFPB: What can I do if a debt collector contacts me about a debt I already paid or don't think I owe?) https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/can-a-debt-collecto... (CFPB: Can a debt collector still collect a debt after I’ve disp…
> What should I do when a debt collector contacts me? Weep, because it will now be a good 5-6 years minimum before you can buy a house. Or, rejoice, because you didn't have a down payment anyway.
You can file a dispute[0] about items with credit reporting services. The reporter has a time window to reply with supporting evidence. If they don't, you win the dispute by default. If they do, you can dispute it again.
I had a completely BS negative mark on my credit report[1]. I ran that process in a loop (maybe 3-4 iterations IIRC) until the reporter was either bored with it, annoyed by the paperwork, or on vacation until after their deadline. They didn't reply in time and the mistaken mark went away.
You shouldn't abuse that process to get rid of legitimate reports. In the long run it's easier to just pay your bills as best you can. But the credit reporters have all kinds of processes they can use to ruin your day. You absolutely should use the processes available to you to make sure your report's accurate.
[0] Like https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/cred...
[1] In before "you must've done something wrong!" Nope. A large government agency claimed I owed them money. I had all of the receipts showing that I paid in full. I eventually had to involve my senator, resulting in an apology letter from a very high ranking official (and I'm sure a few chewed butts). They didn't get around to removing the derogatory report, though, so I did it myself while waiting for the second senator inquiry to wrap up.
Re: Credit card debt collection
#18Earlier quoted context omitted.
> A statute of limitations is the limited period of time creditors or debt collectors have to file a lawsuit to recover a debt. Most statutes of limitations fall in the three to six years range, although in some jurisdictions they may extend for longer. Statutes of limitation may vary depending on state laws, the type of debt you have, or the state law named in your credit agreement. https://www.consumerfinance.gov/c…
If it ever shows up on my credit report I'll do that hah. Otherwise it doesn't affect me at all.
You are my hero
Re: Credit card debt collection
#19Wow, this was one of those articles where my eyebrow just kept on raising higher and higher the further into it I read.
Same
Re: Credit card debt collection
#20What's the waste of the software industry?