Will a 3 year old judgement stop us from renting?

Question

My husband and I are currently planning on moving back to the states. We recently checked my credit score and it is in the mid 720's. My husband informed me he has a judgement on his credit report. What does that mean? He thinks it may be from an old lease, he took his name off and his friend never put his on. The friend lived there for 4 months. Can they put it towards my husband, his name was the last on the lease? Also, he moved overseas immediately after this, so how do we deal with this now? Any assistance is great, I want to get this taken care of immediately!

Answer 1

First of all, if you have a 720 credit score that is very good...an A- in my opinion. Second, if the landlord checks your credit they will probably go off the score. Only the most particular of landlords would ask about the judgment. You probably don't want to rent from them anyway.

A judgment by the way is where a person went to the courthouse and filed a claim against you saying you owed them money. It is most often used by people, or entities, and not lenders in the commercial sense. A landlord would probably file one under the circumstances you are decribing.

There are three major credit reporting agencies; Transunion, Experian, and Equifax. Make sure you check all of them. Sometimes things get reported on one, two, or all three. It is up to the person who filed it. You can then contact the agencies directly to get the contact information of the person who filed the claim. If they can't provide this, or if you simply think it to be false, you can challenge the claim. If the entity that filed it does not respond within a certain time period the credit bureau has to remove it.

Finally, keep in mind something that most people don't know. Paying it off, if it is legitimate, might hurt you. You see, the judgment will fall off within seven years from the date of the last activity. Paying it off is considered an activity. So it does nothing to remove the judgment from your credit report, simply shows it has been paid, and extends the period of time before it falls off.

Answer 2

Yes, your husband is responsible for it.  Best bet, try to settle with whoever has the judgment.  Many times they will take less than the original amount.  Get it in writing!  Require a full release/satisfaction of the judgment when you do pay.  Have the release recorded in the county it was filed in.  It will then show as paid.  However, it will stay on his credit for 10 years.  Yes, due to the fact that it was on a rental- it could affect being able to rent a home.  Totally depends on the landlord- If he gives a good reason and/or settles the debt it will help.  You also may want to just use your credit to rent till this is cleared.  You definately need to pay it before trying to buy a home.  Good luck!!

Answer 3

A judgement doesnt matter....UNLESS its from a former landlord.  If its a paid judgement you have a somewhat ok chance of renting if you really look around.  I had a paid collection from a property management and i had so much trouble finding someone to rent to me here in CA.  I too had a credit score near yours.  After trying 10 places, i finally found someone to rent to me (that didnt have a dump that is)  Finding dumps to live in is easy with property management collections.  Finding a nice place is alot harder.

Answer 4

Your 720 score is very good, which will be major plus in this situation. I wouldn't worry too much about that judgement seeing as how your credit is so good.

Answer 5

He has a good score, and I agree unless the judgement is from a landlord, I'm not sure it will matter.