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How can I get a judgement off of my credit report? the judgement is from an appartment complex saying I owe them 484.00 I was never evicted from the apartment I continue to stay there for another year and half. I got a release of judgement and a letter from my former landlord stating that I was never evicted and only late two times on my rent. The problem is I'm looking for another apartment and noone will rent to me because of the judgement.. I need some help my current lease is up in August and I would like to move to a cheaper and closer to current jobTHank you
Optional Information: Country relating to Question: United States State (if USA): Mississippi Already Tried: Getting a release of judgment which I owed no money at the time and a Letter from my previous landlord stating that fact
Hello, .Thank you for using JA. If the judgment was entered in error, then a person can file a dispute with the 3 credit reporting agencies (Experian, Transunion, Equifax) and request that they remove the entry from the person's credit report. These agencies have a legal duty to remove inaccurate or incorrect information from a person's report if it is disputed and the original creditor does not verify the debt within 30 days after the agency contacts them. I would also suggest sending them a copy of the release as well as the landlord's letter to support your claims..Assuming that the landlord is the named creditor, the agencies will contact him and investigate the dispute. If he tells them that it was issued in error, they will then remove it from your credit report..
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Thanks.
Barrister
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Is it possible for me to get a vacate of judgement since thier was never any money owed?? This judgement was in 2007 and I've "heard" that if I dispute the address on the judgement and if they take the address off then it will be easier for me to dispute the judement......any thoughts on that
It is pretty unlikely after this long. Typically the judgment can only be challenged up to 30 days after it was entered. .Although it does seem odd that some sort of judgment would just be spontaneously entered against you. Were you being sued and the suit was dropped? or do you have no idea what this is about to begin with? .If the landlord was the plantiff in the case and you the defendant, he must have filed it for something to begin with....Something is not adding up here...were you late on your rent, the landlord filed for eviction, then you paid the rent and avoided being evicted? Judges don't just enter judgments against someone unless the plaintiff seeks one..
Yes I was late on my rent and paid it before the court date I showed up at court and the landlord was not their. I did not know this was on my credit until 2008 when I applied for another apartment like I said I was still living at the apartment at the time of the judgement. The new apartment complex required me to get a release of judgement and a letter from the landlord stating I was never evicted. My old landlord at the time happily agreed to writing the letter and getting me a release of judgement faxed to the rental office immediately. My old landlord was also surprise that it showed up on my credit report. I never received anything else about the said judgement as was wondering how was I allowed to stay in my apartment with a judgement agaisnt me.
Ok, here is the thing, if you showed up to court and the landlord didn't, then the case would have been dismissed and wouldn't be a judgement against you on your record. So this is my guess as to what happened....you either showed up late or early and then left either before or after your case had been called. Landlord was there and got a default judgment against you, although improperly if he had already been paid..The credit reporting agencies only report actual judgments. And a judgment is only entered if the plaintiff shows up and asks for one. I know this because I have been a landlord over 20 years and have had to evict numerous tenants over the years. Sometimes I will go ahead and get a judgment against a tenant and then they come up with the money to pay everything off including court costs and I agree not to enforce the judgment and evict them. But that doesn't change the fact that there was a valid jugement entered against the tenant. I just chose not to enforce it and accepted the entire back rent and court costs of the eviction to let them stay..Obviously this is just my speculation about what happened, but being attorney and a landlord, this is the only solution that makes sense to me..If this was the case, and landlord did get a judgment against you, either before or after you appeared in court, the it would be valid and even though he didn't evict, it would still be validly reported on your credit report..
Thank you so my best bet is to send the release of judgement and the letter from my landlord to all 3 credit report agencies and have it listed as satisfied. Can I also make a statement saying I was in nursing school at the time and was late but never evicted.
Another thing sorry for wasting your time, but is a judgement the same as an eviction??? How will other landlords look at this I don't think any other ones would want to lease to me even with the letter and the release of judgement.
Yes, although I suspect a judgment was entered against you, if you cured the default with the landlord and he is willing to confirm this with the credit agencies, then they might remove it. But typically they only have to remove incorrect info, so if you did in fact have a judgment entered against you, then they may refuse as it is accurately reported..No, when a landlord gets a judgment for eviction, he just had the right to evict the person if he chooses. There is on obligation to do so if the person either moves out voluntarily or they come to an agreement with the landlord as to payment. But once it is entered against the person, it stays on their credit report for 7 years whether the person was actually evicted or not..The best course of action is to be perfectly honest with them. If you explain that you got behind and an eviction action was filed but you ended up paying in full and were never evicted even though a judgment was entered against you, a decent landlord will give you a chance provided you have current income that would support the payments. It is when tenants try to sugar coat things or not be perfectly honest with exactly what happened that landlords get a bad feeling from an applicant and won't rent to them. But corporately owned landlords are usually less forgiving than smaller private landlords, so you may have to look for a smaller privately owned complex or apartment building..
Or perhaps a cosigner?????
Yes, that might work as well if they have someone to back up your obligation..
Experience: 13 years real estate, Realtor. Landlord 24+ years