How Much Does a Missed Mortgage Payment Affect a Credit Rating?

Missing any credit payment will negatively impact your credit score. However, missing mortgage payments can have a larger and more profound impact on your credit history.

Significance

Timely payments make up more than one-third of your total credit score. Missing or falling behind on a mortgage payment can decrease it by as much as 100 points, according to MSN Money writer Liz Pulliam Weston.

Effects

Late or missed mortgage payments can be hard to reconcile because your lender will charge you late fees and penalties. If you continue to miss payments, your lender may start foreclosure proceedings. Losing your home to foreclosure or voluntary giving it back to the lender can cause your credit score to drop 200 to 300 points.

Misconceptions

Even if you make your next scheduled mortgage payment after missing one, your lender will continue to report you to the credit bureaus as being late. That's because your payment will be applied to the past due amount, meaning you will become past due again for the current month. To avoid this scenario, you must pay both the past due and current amounts, as well as any late fees and penalties.

Prevention/Solution

Many mortgage companies offer assistance to homeowners who have fallen behind or who have missed a mortgage payment, if they can document a hardship, such as a job loss. If you are in this situation, you need to call your lender immediately to discuss your options

References

• MSN Money; Homeowners Who Just Walk Away; Liz Pulliam Weston; April 2008