How to a Get Foreclosure Out of a Credit Report

A foreclosure is a devastating event. Losing a home is difficult enough, but having a foreclosure on your credit report can haunt you for up to seven years. A foreclosure can drastically lower your credit score, and it will impede your ability to get loans and new credit cards, as well as to get insurance or a job. Although it is very difficult to get a foreclosure out of your credit report, you can take some steps to see if it is possible.

Things You'll Need

• Copies of your credit report from each credit bureau

Instructions

1. Negotiate with the bank to see if it might be willing to not report the foerclosure to the credit bureaus. Although it is unlikely, the bank may agree to this term in exchange for some consideration from you, such as vacating the home on a specific date and agreeing to leave it in good condition.

2. Get a copy of your credit report from Equifax, Experian and Transunion, and check them over very carefully for any errors. If the bank insists on reporting the foreclosure, the information must be correct and verifiable in order to remain on your credit reports. The three major credit bureaus are legally required to give you a free copy of your credit report every year, which makes it easy to check this information.

3. Dispute the accuracy of the foreclosure with each of the three major credit bureaus. Each bureau will have a dispute form on its website. Keep your dispute as general as possible, putting the pressure on the lender to verify all of the information. Once you file a dispute, the credit bureau must contact the lender and get verification of the information or it must be removed from your credit report.

4. Recheck your credit reports in 60 days to see if the foreclosure has been removed. If it has, continue to recheck all three of your credit reports every year to make sure that it does not reappear. If it does, and if you can still find an inaccuracy, file another dispute.

5. If your dispute is not successful, check your credit reports at the end of the required reporting period for foreclosures, which is usually seven years. If the foreclosure continues to appear after that time period, immediately dispute it.

Tips & Warnings

• Banks and mortgage lenders often go through merges or get absorbed by other companies. If this happens, your mortgage lender might be less likely to attempt to verify the foreclosure information on your website. If the lender does not respond, no matter what the reason, it will be removed.

• When ordering copies of your credit report, be sure to order them from the official website. Other websites advertise free credit reports, but they require you to sign up for monitoring service for a monthly fee. The official site does not require any type of payment for your reports.

Resources

• Official free credit report website