Do I need to still pay the judgment?

A judgment was entered for non-payment of rent in 2005 when I had already moved out of the apartment I was sharing with my mother. What I failed to do was take my name off of the lease before I moved in with a roommate and her daughter. I didn’t think about it at the time because I was desperate to move away from my mother. I have proof that I was in another living situation via rent receipts. My husband and I are trying to move to another apartment and because of me, we cannot really move anywhere because of the judgment. I decided to call my mother and ask her for the contact information of the people who managed the apartments that I lived in with my mother. I found out that they no longer managed the apartments and they didn’t know who did.

So I decided to do a Google search, looking up on the apartment building. It turns out that the apartment building was up for sale and being sold by a realty group. So I contacted the realty group and asked them who was managing the apartment building and they told me they couldn’t tell me and to search via public records.

I contacted my mother and told her the news and she told me that if the building was up for sale that meant that the judgment against us should be deleted off of our credit.

Now I would like to know what can be done in regards to this revelation and I would like to know if my mother is correct.

[sandyclaus]

Originally Posted by NMartins A judgment was entered for non-payment of rent in 2005 when I had already moved out of the apartment I was sharing with my mother. What I failed to do was take my name off of the lease before I moved in with a roommate and her daughter. I didn’t think about it at the time because I was desperate to move away from my mother. I have proof that I was in another living situation via rent receipts. My husband and I are trying to move to another apartment and because of me, we cannot really move anywhere because of the judgment. I decided to call my mother and ask her for the contact information of the people who managed the apartments that I lived in with my mother. I found out that they no longer managed the apartments and they didn’t know who did. So I decided to do a Google search, looking up on the apartment building. It turns out that the apartment building was up for sale and being sold by a realty group. So I contacted the realty group and asked them who was managing the apartment building and they told me they couldn’t tell me and to search via public records. I contacted my mother and told her the news and she told me that if the building was up for sale that meant that the judgment against us should be deleted off of our credit. Now I would like to know what can be done in regards to this revelation and I would like to know if my mother is correct.

Your mother is INCORRECT.

You never removed your name for the lease, so when your mother was evicted for non-payment, the LL sued all persons named on the lease and obtained the judgment.

Just because the property was sold does not remove your obligation to pay the judgment (along with your mother). You still owe that debt, and if neither you nor your mother have paid it, it does & should remain on your credit report until the statute of limitations expires.

Want it to come off your credit? Pay the judgment.

Correct. And in addition, you don't owe the current management of that building for that judgment. You owe whomever owned the building at the time. He was the one who lost the rent money. He was the one who sued you and obtained a judgment against you. And it is he that you need to now pay if you want this removed. Judgments are good for a long period of time. In my state they are good for 10 yrs. And they can be renewed once they expire for another period of years. (So a judgment in my state would be good for 20 years!) The only way to remove this from your credit is to pay it off.

Thanks so very much for answering!

It's incorrect to state that the only way to have this judgment removed from your credit report is to pay it. Once you do pay it, it will start the clock all over again, as the creditor will then report that it has been paid, but it will still remain on your credit report for 7 years after the date it was reported as paid. Yes, there will be a 0 balance. However, the item itself will remain for 7 years or until the Statute of Limitations runs out; whichever is longer.

That item will remain on your credit report for this period anyways. Having paid the judgment and having a $0 balance looks much better to creditors and LLs than having a bad debt. This shows that you do pay your debts and that other companies can depend on you (if belatedly) to pay up. They are more likely to extend credit to you if you pay. Your credit score improves when the debt is paid. Additionally, if you pay the debt, you can negotiate to remove the bad debt notation and ask that they replace it with a better term (such as paid in full, or paid as required). Leaving a judgment unpaid only signals to creditors that you are a deadbeat and none will extend you credit.

Actually, no,,, it won't remain for that long anyways. It will remain on there for 7 years or until the SOL runs out, whichever is longer. This means that if it's set to come off, say, two days from now, it's off there. But if it's paid today or tomorrow and reported to the credit bureau as paid, it will start the 7 year clock all over again and it will remain on the credit report for yet another 7 years.

Any negative item on a credit report affects the score, regardless of whether or not it's been paid. Merely having it on there will negatively affect a credit score until it is removed.

While I encourage payment, it's is often a catch 22. Credit reports often punish people for being responsible. For instance, if you close a credit card you do not want or use, your credit score drops. As our economy stands right now, a good credit score is now 760, where a year or so ago it was 740. It is essential to strive for as good a score as possible.

The best way to handle this is to arrange with the creditor who placed the item on the report to remove it once it is paid.

FYI: A debt remains on there for 7 years. A judgment remains on the credit report for the length of time that the judgment is good for that state (the SOL). In my state, that judgment remains in effect for 10 years. Most states have judgment lengths of 7-15 years. And, when that judgment expires, nearly all states allow that judgment to be renewed. That is, it can be renewed for another period of years by the creditor simply paying the court to reinstate the judgment. (This doubles the statute of limitations!) Then it is good for another 7-15 years. It will show up on the credit report for that entire period as there is still a judgment in effect for it.

So the choice is - pay the judgment and contact the creditor to ask for them to amend the debt on the report, while waiting for the debt to fall off. Or wait 14-30 years for it to come off on its own! The choice is simple.