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Permalink Reply by Wendy Rulnick on April 12, 2011 at 12:03pm

Tonia - FICO does not make its exact credit scoring calculations public.  Your score will take into consideration your current score,  payment history, length of credit history, available credit compared to current balances, etc.  It's been published that people with HIGHER scores to begin with, get dinged more than those with lower scores after a short sale or foreclosure.  Post what your score is and what is becomes, to help educate others.  You will be able to rebuild your credit with on-time payments in the future.

 

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Permalink Reply by Smitty on April 13, 2011 at 1:35am

Tonia, you can rebuild your credit quickly by getting a credit card that's secured.  You will recover much quicker if you can show timely payments.  Our bankruptcy attorney always suggests this to every client.

 

I met a man yesterday who filed bankruptcy in 05.  He had a credit score of 859. 

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Permalink Reply by Andrew Coppo on April 13, 2011 at 7:30am

Tonia: I posted an article on this site, as well as on my own blog,  discussing the affect a short sale has on your credit score. As Wendy correctly pointed out, individuals with higher FICO scores usually notice a greater initial drop as the result of a short sale or foreclosure. You can, however, take some proactive measures to limit the damage to your score. Most important, if you are able to remain "current" on your payments, or at least avoid becoming "seriously delinquent", your score will not be affected as much as those who go through a foreclosure. In addition, there is no uniform practice for banks to report the derogatory credit event, in this case a short sale, to the credit bureaus. Thus, you can ask the bank negotiator how they plan on reporting your inability to pay your debt obligation to the lien holder. Finally, it is important to distinguish the affect a short sale has on your credit score from the ability to purchase another home. With regard to the latter, you will likely not be able to receive financing on another home for another 2-4 years following a short sale, regardless, of your credit score.

 

*Please note that I am not an attorney and you should seek independent legal advice when considering a short sale. 

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