You are the one in 1300 folks that keep their credit score nose clean, with a FICO credit score over 800.
You have a home mortgage that you pre-pay lump sums, make larger monthly payments than it was written for to get it off your back. Refinancing all along the way to land the cheapest money for that loan as rate drops open up opportunities to do so. Your car is paid for, you credit cards are used mainly on a trip and sparingly with monthly charges cleaned right up. No balance carried and the payments like clock work mailed out the day they arrive. No revolving minimum paying for you with lots of interest assessed. You save money, live within your means which is so not American it seems. You are a credit user dinosaur, and just don't get behind the wheel of that vehicle. And 99% are a pay as you go mild mannered guy or gal. You happen to be a real estate broker too.So you go to refinance to tap in to those incredibly low mortgage rates for your own home mortgage to take advantage of the cheap money. And your credit score that was always always over 800 comes up in the lower 700's. What happened? It seems in your travels as Joe Real Estate Broker, you have many transactions. Most marked sold, some that don't get to the closing table. A few where the deposit put down to take the propertyoff the market is held in escow until the deal unravels, falls apart despite all efforts with jumper cables and life support property attention. And the property buyerand seller decide to wrestle over the small five hundred dollar deposit. Both want it, feel ruffed up from the hard path with obstacles hurting their feet along the way. And small claims court, a judge is given the task of flipping the coin, determining who the real estate broker, you, are to release the deposit too.
It's not the broker's money, he is holding it in his trust account until which way the deposit wind is blowing is decided. Judge Judy or Wapner say, award it to the real estate buyer in this case. Move on. No harm, no fowl, just part of the daily job as a real estate agent. Write the trust account check. And then during personal refinancing to lower your home loan rate, to follow the decline in interest your current mortgage holder is charging, suddenly red "credit tilt" lights go off, smoke flares head skyward.
Your stellar 825 credit rating is now in the mid 700's. How can that be, there must be a mistake? Nope.
It seems that five hundred dollar deposit contest tug of war between the buyer and selleryou brought together is showing up as a court judgment on the real estate broker's credit reportsays Mr Banker. And you still get a great rate reduction on the refinance with the mid 700's credit score and this solitary small caliber gun shot bureau wound. But not quite as stellar as they would hand out to the 800+ gold star credit merit badge holders in the class.
So you open up an investigation, show that it was not a judgment against you personally, but on behalf of the sellerthat you represent. It's part of your job, not dereliction or negligence on your part. Just comes with the territory of listing, marketing, selling real estate. You go thru thick and thin to represent and protect your seller in this case but not to the extent to take a presidential bullet so to speak. Not pledging to take hits on your own credit score on his behalf right? Maybe not.
After opening up an investigation, showing the judgment was satisfied, not something the real estate broker could have avoid when a conflict between the buyer and seller came up and a stratch of the head on why the seller's credit did not take the ding, and you the broker was on the front line? The court release, the story of the process leading up to the credit reduction cross roads gets you a release, a removal of the blemish on a picture perfect credit canvas after a year of automation, faxes, time and frustration. You are out of the woods right? Maybe, maybe not. Check that score again, you get one free credit report from the major reporting firms each year. And should check to see how your sharp credit marksmanship is or is not. Credit restoration and removal of reported burdocks that may not be you is a hobby that can save lots of money when borrowing some is necessary.
In this scenario, back to Trans Union to fax, email, call and show the event was resolved, removed, and should not have had you in the fray all done two years before.
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