So you got a “mortgage late.” You thought you paid your mortgage on time, but for some reason the bank or loan servicer never got your mortgage payment.
It happens every day. Homeowners fail to pay their mortgage on time for one reason or another. I’ve heard every excuse in the book as a former Account Executive. Unfortunately, most fall on deaf ears.
Typically, mortgage lates occur when homeowners are between homes. It’s understandable when you move from one home to another, paying off one mortgage and acquiring a new one.
But you need to be extremely careful during that period to ensure everything is paid as agreed.
Again, any excuse you throw out probably won’t cut it, even if it was someone else’s fault, which it often is.
Mortgage Lates Will Sink Your Credit Scores
- Late mortgage payment(s) must be 30+ days past due to impact credit scores
- If you’re only a few days (or even weeks) late you’ll likely only have to pay a late fee
- So it typically doesn’t happen by accident
- Impact will vary based on credit history and number/severity of late payments
Aside from having to pay any late fee associated with the overdue payment, you’ll also see your credit scores sink big time if you’re 30 days late (or more) on the mortgage.
Depending on where your scores stood prior to the mortgage late, they could fall anywhere from 60 to 100+ points.
After 30 days, this delinquency information is relayed to the credit reporting agencies, at which point the damage is done.
Simply put, mortgage lates severely damage your credit score. And mortgage lenders and banks aren’t particularly keen on lending to homeowners who couldn’t pay their home loan on time in the past.
However, because of the frequency of mortgage lates committed by homeowners in recent years, some mortgage lenders and banks now allow one 30-day mortgage late in the past 24 months before a subsequent home loan application. So there’s a bit of leeway.
Unfortunately, that only allows you to be late on the mortgage once in the last two years.
What happens if you miss your payment more than once, or get a “rolling late,” which essentially counts for two late payments?
Or if you get a 60-day late, or worse? What do you do? In most cases, you’ll probably be denied a mortgage.
Get the Mortgage Late Removed from Your Credit Report
- If you can get the mortgage late removed from your credit history
- Your credit scores may surge higher as a result
- And you won’t have to worry about underwriting restrictions
- Most mortgage lenders won’t extended financing with prior late mortgage payments present on your credit report
You’ll likely need to get those late mortgage payments removed from your credit report if you plan on financing any new lines of credit, especially if you plan on buying a new home, or refinancing your current mortgage.
Assuming you still qualify for a mortgage with the late payments, you’ll be stuck paying a premium in the form of a higher mortgage rate.
So it’s a problem either way. Now about getting those lates removed. If your mortgage late is substantiated, there is little you can do about removing it from your credit history.
You got the late for a reason that was nobody’s fault but your own, and you have to pay the price.
But if for any reason that mortgage late was the fault of the bank or lender, the loan servicer, or another third party, you can successfully get it removed from your credit report.
In reality, you can *attempt* to get the late(s) removed either way, though you’ll probably see a higher rate of success if it wasn’t really your fault.
Steps for Mortgage Late Removal
- Get a copy of your credit reports (all 3)
- Get in touch with the bank, lender, or loan servicer reporting the late(s)
- If they are at fault and admit it, get a letter in writing and ask them to fix it
- If it’s your fault, you can still try to dispute it and get it removed
- Similar to the speeding ticket rule where you win if no one “shows up”
The first step is to determine what mortgage account is showing up as delinquent on your credit report. Get a free credit report from each bureau and find out exactly when and from whom the mortgage late is reporting.
The next step is to call, e-mail, or write to the lender, bank, or loan servicer reporting the mortgage late on your credit report.
Discuss the late payment with the representative and explain why you believe it is erroneous. This step can be quick and easy, or quite painstaking depending on how easy it is make your point and clear up the mistake.
Assuming the bank or lender recognizes their error, they may agree to send you a letter on their company letterhead detailing the mortgage late, complete with the account number and the time the late or late payments occurred.
They should also inform the credit bureaus of their mistake, which will boost your credit scores once the delinquency is eventually removed.
It is essential to keep the letter you receive from them in a safe place, or even make copies of it. You may need to use this letter next time you apply for a mortgage or any other line of credit.
If you need to resolve the mortgage late payment immediately, once your credit is pulled by a bank or lender, simply send the letter to the credit reporting company the bank or lender used to pull your credit.
Once they receive the letter, they may be able to remove the late(s) and issue what is called a “credit supplement” that proves it is resolved.
Rapid Rescore to Boost Your Credit Scores Fast
- If you need your credit scores increased quickly
- Consider looking into a rapid rescore service
- Which is basically an expedited data refresh of your credit history
- That would otherwise normally take weeks to reflect in your credit scores
While this may solve the mortgage late problem, your FICO scores may still be deflated for a while before the credit bureaus take notice. Assuming you need a mortgage immediately, you may not have time to wait.
In that case, you will likely need to do a “rapid rescore” as well to update your credit scores with the three credit bureaus.
Instead of waiting for the next data refresh, which could take weeks to a month or longer, you can do a sort of forced credit score update in a matter of days.
This same method can boost your credit scores if you recently paid off some credit card balances or other loans, and the lower balances haven’t yet been reflected in your scores.
It can come in handy if your credit scores are just below a certain key threshold, such as a 720 credit score, which is often needed to receive the lowest mortgage rate available.
Just take note that rapid rescoring typically comes at a cost, which will vary by company and by the number of items that need updating.
Do not waste your money on rapid rescoring if you don’t have a legitimate excuse for the lates, or paperwork to document any error made by the issuing bank or lender.
You really only want to go the rescore route if you know the new information has been accepted, and just not updated yet.
Plan in Advance Instead
- Even if you can get your lates removed quickly (for a fee)
- It’s probably best to work on removal long before you apply for a mortgage
- Because it can be very time-consuming to successfully complete a dispute
- And you may have more success with added time on your side
Perhaps a better plan is to resolve any credit reporting issues long before you apply for a mortgage, instead of rushing what could be a very critical and time-consuming issue.
If you aren’t planning on applying for any new home financing in the near future, but want the mortgage lates removed, the easiest way to do it might be online.
Simply visit the credit reporting bureaus websites and look for their dispute page. I have listed them below for your convenience.
– Equifax dispute page
– Experian dispute page
– TransUnion dispute page
You will need to fill out an online form to locate your credit file, then provide any documentation you have to make your case.
The good news is it’s free and you’ll get an answer within 30 days. So it’s possible to have your issue resolved fairly quickly, assuming you’re successful.
Above, I noted that you can attempt to have anything removed from your credit report. While this is true, there’s no guarantee of success.
It’s basically like hoping a cop won’t show up to court if you got a speeding ticket. If they’re a no-show, you generally get let off the hook, even if you were at fault.
Similarly, if a loan servicer or mortgage lender doesn’t respond to your dispute, the credit bureau might remove the mortgage late, even if it was your fault.
Here’s the problem; your mortgage delinquency is probably on all three of your credit reports.
And because mortgage lenders pull a tri-merge credit report, you’ll need to get the late cleared up with all three credit bureaus. The chances of getting all three to not respond might be a big ask and require a lot of luck.
Now if you do have legitimate documentation and upload a copy during the dispute process, there’s a good chance removal will be successful.
But as I warned, the process can take several months for your scores to reflect the changes.
Still, if the late payments are removed, your credit scores may rise substantially, potentially pushing you from subprime to A-paper, which could save you thousands on a mortgage.
In summary, always pay your mortgage on time, no matter the circumstances. Mortgage lates are one of the best ways to harm good credit, and poor credit will lead to a higher mortgage rate or no mortgage at all!
Tip: How to get a mortgage with a low credit score.
Good tip. I didn’t realize they could be removed once they hit your credit report. I guess it’s worth a shot, nothing to lose.
Even if you have a legitimate mortgage delinquency on your credit report, you can still argue it with the credit bureaus. Simply use the dispute forms on their websites (Equifax/Experian/TransUnion) and if the lender doesn’t respond to your dispute, they will have to remove the late from your credit report. That should give your credit score a good boost and will relieve you of any issues related to having a mortgage late on your credit report in terms of qualifying for a subsequent mortgage.
This worked for me. I simply disputed the late mortgage payments on my credit report and within about 45 days the delinquencies were removed, no questions asked. I guess the lender or servicer didn’t respond to the dispute notice, so I win!
The problem is if the lender reports months later that you were indeed late your screwed. Even if they removed it before.
Louis,
If you were indeed late they have all the right to report it as such. If you’re able to get it removed that’s a bonus.
I have a release of mortgage which states cancel and discharge of said mortgage and called circuit court where it was filed and says zero balance but have sent all three credit bureau copies of release where it says cancel and release but my mortgage company says the info on credit report is correct and just used a different acct number so the balance is still on credit report what do I do
Debra,
Have you tried disputing the information on your credit report with the bureaus? Or contacting the mortgage lender directly?
My question is, I did a deed in lieu of foreclosure and it was reported back in July of 2011, however Equifax has just reported the delinquency in 2013, so it appears to be a new lateness and now my credit score has been affected (again). It was lowered when the delinquency happened back in 2011 and I have been since then still paying my other creditors on time and trying to wait out the 7 years, why would they wait two years to report this?
Hey Carol,
Not sure why Equifax is reporting it two years later than when it apparently occurred. Perhaps they are reporting not the foreclosure itself, but some other event related to it? Ideally if/when you apply for a mortgage, a tri-merge credit report (all three bureaus) will indicate that the original delinquency was in 2011. Some might recommend a dispute to get any information corrected.
Hello, I am having problems with a mortgage of a house that i am not living in. Six years ago I got divorce. My ex husband kept the house. We are both in the loan he has stopped making payments on the house and now is affecting my credit tremendously. We are not able to refinance or sell the house, due to the devaluation price of the house. Is there any way that I can be out of the loan? Please advise.
Bibi,
Generally, a refinance/sale is the only way to get out of the loan. Have you looked into a refinance via HARP or another underwater program with your lender. Or perhaps a loan modification? Homes prices have gone up a lot lately so it might be worth another look.
Hello,
My loan was under modification. BOA said the only way to be in the program is if I show late payments on my loan. They advise to pay late. During the modification they transferred the loan to another lender who took over the modification. Everything that they asked for were given to them. They also said I had to be late on my mortgage. Both banks had said that “once you’re in a modification/workout program it will not affect your credit.”
I never got approved for the modification and it has been since 2010. I finally sold the house in 2014. I reapplied for another mortgage loan and was denied. The reason for the denial was because of the lateness on my mortgage payments with both banks. The banks refused to modify their reporting. Please advise.
I keep hearing from my mortgage lender, “that it is their policy to only remove 1 late charge per year.” Is there not someone who can remove them all? I mean, after many times calling, I have gotten 4 removed in one year. Long story short. I have taken over the budget after my husband has accrued these late fees and is why I want them gone. And find it ridculious no one can remove them. Is this true or is it just bank “policy” to make up a policy to collect your money?
Hi Nadira,
Unfortunately, I think this was a common problem during the crisis. It sounds like they told you the lates wouldn’t affect the modification itself, but made no mention of subsequent mortgage applications. Perhaps working with the credit reporting agencies (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion) and/or the lender to attempt to get the lates removed from your credit report could help, though it’ll probably take time even if successful.
I have late payments on my mortgage account because it has been sold several time to different companies. In addition, I received modification that released me from the balance owed and to start fresh. Is there any way I can have those late payments removed?
Thank you.
Pinky,
As noted in the article, it’s sometimes possible to dispute delinquent accounts with the credit bureaus to get the late payment activity removed. But there’s no guarantee if the creditor validates the information.
Colin,
Great article. I saw the following and I need to comment because so many people are stuck in their loans because of one Mortgage late. Usually a honest mistakes and I understand, but it’s still your fault.
“Here’s the problem. If your mortgage late is substantiated, there is little you can do about removing it from your credit history. You got the late for a reason that was nobody’s fault but your own, and you have to pay the price.”
Your readers need to know that they need to have a VERY good story before calling the lender. Please don’t wing it. They must either show that it’s the lender’s fault or is some sort of mistake on “their ” end. I highly suggest that your clients leave it to a professional. Call someone, anyone, but do not try to talk their way out of it. We have clients who tries to give the Sob story, but ends up admitting to the late or lates which “substantiates” the late like you said while it’s being recorded. A sob story will NOT work because the agents on the other end of the line have heard EVERY single story under the sun and they are death to your story.
You can delete this post if you like, but we can remove mortgage lates guaranteed. Fees are paid after the work is done. Please email me. I know we can help some people.
Thanks,
Chad
Hey Chad,
What do the pros do differently that the agents on the other end haven’t heard or seen before? Just curious, thanks for your note.
Colin,
Ans: The right story. One must create a story that makes it “their fault.” There are alot of laws and legal tricks that one can use. Every case is different – how is not something I can answer here. =)
The agents/robots on the other end of the line is mainly looking to stick to “the script” and never “accept fault” because if the banks/creditors/data furnishers say, “sorry, it was our fault” (in writing) can becomes proof in a court of law if the that particular late mortgage payment causes harm to the client. If this late causes the borrow to lose a property (with equity) then the creditor is then liable for the lost which can be in the 100s of thousands.
IE: Common story: a loan/note gets sold from one paper holder to another, then to another. Borrower sends payment to an old lender with a couple of days left before it’s late. The check, then, bounces back to the borrower 15 days later. The mortgage payment is late. uhhh-oh…. The borrower’s scores drop by 80-100 points. The borrower is stuck with that company for at least 24 months and a refi is not possible.
FICO is funny, at least to me. The range is 350-850 (loosely) For a credit card: from 350-680 its a automatic denial or you get 300 bucks with 24% APR; from 720 – 850 it’s an automatic approval. so, the difference is 40 points guys and gals; the true range of FICO is 40 points! (it is a bit better with RE because the most secured loan at 620). So, if you are a A student, imagine going to F with one late payment. FICO is broken.
Note: Colin, that last part was for you. I apologize if that sounds like an attempt to advertise on your blog. Please delete that portion if you don’t mind.
C
Hi Chad M, what is your contact info? please contact me or call me I can use your service for one missed mortgage payment caused by kyhc not my fault but seems I will get credit hit. Thx awaismo[at]sbcglobal.net
Hey Chad,
Can you shoot me your contact info? I’m interested in talking to you about how you can help me.
Thanks
Hi Chad, If an account has gone to collection and has been closed, but still shows a balance due on my credit report, can I still pay off the debt? If so, will it increase my credit score?
We are about to complete a rent-to-own contract with a buyer of our home. They agreed to purchase the property for a certain amt by the end of this year. We had to go through a loan-modification on this property immediately before they signed, due to another buyer doing a rent-to-own backing out. We had a few late payments in the process, but our mortgage company modified the loan and our payments have been on time since (what will be two years ago). We did not have to go through foreclosure, though we were going into the process. We opted for the loan modification which stopped the process. In other categories, we have fair credit, and plan to pay off all debt, including the remaining mortgage with the sale of the house. At the same time as this sale, we are moving to a city nearby in the adjoining state. We will have a slightly lower income with the new job. We plan to eventually purchase a lower priced home even lower than what we might eventually qualify for with the new salary. How long will be need to wait to apply for a lower mortgage, and is there any type of special mortgage, such as FHA or rural housing loan, that might help us qualify right away. Or, will have to wait a few years to apply bec of the past loan modification (even though it was about two years ago)? Sorry so long
Did anyone get Chads information?
Want to hear an amazing and depressing story? I make over $300K (W-2 long term employee), have $1.5M in investments and was trying to borrow $540K on a house that appraised for $650K. My wife has perfect credit and a FICO of 775. My FICO was 765…before my screw up. What did I do you ask? Well, I had an investment property that had an interest only loan on it. Because I usually throw most mail away (most of it’s junk nowadays), I didn’t see the notice that the loan was converting to a P&I loan. Thus, I kept paying my normal payment. Lo and behold, by the time they notified me that I was behind (I immediately paid it current), I was 30 days late. That was 3 months ago. I tried to get a new mortgage and was turned down. Then I tried a 1st and 2nd mortgage…got turned down on the 2nd. PAY YOUR MORTGAGE FIRST, folks…and pay attention to your mail!!
Flagstar foreclosed on our home 3 1/2 years ago and they have since resold it. The loan is showing up as a current, ongoing past due debt.
I phoned Flagstar and was finally given the correct department, where I was told where to send a letter to correct this situation. I’ve written twice with no response.
Would the credit bureaus be able to remove this if Flagstar continues to ignore me?
Rebecca,
It’s possible to write a letter to the bureaus and/or dispute it online and if Flagstar doesn’t respond in a timely manner, have it removed.
Looking for some info on Flagstar Bank…
I closed on my new(new to me) home in july 2008.
Closing documents and mortgage with Remington Mtg.
My first actual payment was returned, because R.M. sold my loan to Flagstar.
Once informed, things were settled, all was good.
In late 2010, Flagstar recommended (Almost held a gun to my head it seemed) that I refinance, ‘You’ll pay LESS’, and lower apr etc…
I unfortunately did, was accepted, payments reset etc, all seemed fine.
Come time to make the first payment afterwards, and that is were it started.
‘Sir, you didn’t complete this document, and the loan is delinquent’ WHAT???
I finally got a Flagstar human on the phone, who insured me that nothing was a miss, that I just need to completely re-do the application.
NOT SO!!
They ended up not doing anything else, after sending and sending and resending… no review, no information on what was going on, nor what my options were, and eventually was told to contact ‘Loss Mitigation Dept.’
By this time 9-10 months past, and not a response as what was going to happen, nor steps I needed to take.
They foreclosed, no help from them, no info was sent nor released to me, to help me save my home.
Since then have just blamed myself, thinking it was my fault.
Ultimately it is my fault, but I’m now certain that it was mainly due to the guidance and false information from uncertified, under managed, employees of the neglectful Flagstar Bank.
Fast forward 4 years…
SO… Consumer Protection Bureau sends me this check.. for 10k! What the heck??
(Some online research into Flagstar will educate you)
Is it possible to remove this foreclosure from my CR?
Also, with this new found education of Flagstar’s deceptions, that lead me (a pristine burrower at that time) to loose my home, should I get more legal counsel, and possibly seek further compensation? I figure I loss ~$40k that was already paid before they screwed me…
Anybody have any advice?
Hi, I had an issue regarding a wrongful foreclosure and a subsequent rescission. I’m trying to have the late pays removed for the period I did not own the property. I’d like to get your opinion. Here is a sequence of the events:
This property was foreclosed on in December 2013 after payment was made to keep property out of foreclosure. After contacting the CFPB and the BBB, Citimortgage agreed to a rescission of the foreclosure. A timeline with the sequence of events from 10/2013 thru 12/2014 is listed below. I am writing to you to dispute specific periods of credit reporting. The specific periods in question are as follows:
• November 2013–1st payment was made on the Streamlined Modification.
• December 2013– 2nd payment was made on the Streamlined Modification. Payment was returned as a result of Foreclosure.
• December 2013 thru October 2014–The property was sold for $85,000 on 12/3/2013 to a real estate company. After the foreclosure the property was owned by Federal Home Loan Bank.
• November 2014–Payment was made to get modification up to date. The payment was for $5,317.20 for payments from Dec. 2013 thru November 2014. This payment was denied by Citimortgage and I paid $14,338.08 in December for all past due payments. The account is now current.
I am asking for relief in our credit reporting as a result of delays beyond our control, loss of ownership, and payments made in good faith. Please correct the credit reporting for the months noted above for the time period from 11/2013 thru 11/2014.
Thanks!
I am looking for a company to assist in getting a couple “lates” off of my credit report. Did anyone ever get Chad M contact info?
Am also looking for Chads number.
So if I have a rolling late on my report That is now current do I have to wait for a year to apply for another Mortage to buy another house
Jason,
Depends on how many days late (30, 60, etc.) and what type of mortgage you’re looking to apply for. And also if you can prove any extenuating circumstances related to the delinquency.
I was going through a loan modification with BOA . Omg they drag me on for about 28 months . The statement kept coming and it stated do not pay this amount.they ran me to the ground . I sent the same ducts over and over again . 95 percent no one to speak to . And when I do they say it’s all ok , they will let us know if there is anything missing. Finally they sold the loan and then I was under the water already. Had to file chapter 13 lost everything. And then they reported me as all late payments. So unfair is this legal. I am ruined.
Ricky,
Borrowers are now submitting complaints for lender abuses to the CFPB. Not sure if will change anything but if you feel BofA should be held accountable it could possibly prevent future abuses.
Why are you borrowing money if you make that much money?cant you just buy a home outright. Sorry but I’m not going to feel sorry for you. I feel sorry for those who lose a job and can’t pay their mortgage. Not someone with investment property and 1.5 million in assets sorry.
Looking for Chads #…I have two years worth of no mortgage payments made on my credit report. I just took a loan on my 401k to get myself out of hock; it took about 72 hours to fix what my wife spent the last couple of years hiding. It’s pretty complicated (and humiliating), but I’m getting ready to write a $11k check to pay off the one-year trial period on the loan modification. The problem is: I’m not sure I’ll be able to secure a new loan with my credit score as is…the only thing I could come up with was approach the broker before I send the early trial period payoff to use the leverage to take the 2015 calendar year off my report. Any other thoughts? Chads contact info?
Hi,
I was not able to make my September 2015 mortgage payment. I set-up a payment plan with the mortgage company and paid the payment along with my regular payment during October, November, December and January. I made all those payment on the agreed upon date and for the amount agreed upon. The mortgage company reported my account as late for October, November and December. I did not realize that this would happen. Is this what is generally done? I am now getting a divorce and would like to purchase the house by refinancing the mortgage, but with these late payments I will probably not be able to. I was told I may be able to after a year of on-time payments. I am really desperate to get the house.
Paul,
That’s unfortunate. It’s possible to ask that they remove the late payments since you worked out a deal with them, but if they won’t budge there’s the off chance a dispute with the credit bureaus could work if they don’t respond to the dispute.
I need assistance removing mortgage lates
Hi Colin,
I a worse case scenario, do you think I would be able to refinance after a year of on-time payments? I am willing to wait that long if needed> I really want to stay in my house for the sake of my kids and to keep my biggest asset.
Thanks,
Paul
Paul,
You may want to shop around now to see what’s available for your situation and to determine if you even need to wait. It may not hurt to prepare yourself now so you’ll be ready to go once you clean up your payment history.
HI Colin,
I am taking your advice and personally seeing several banks this week about getting prequalified to get a mortgage. My daughters really want me to stay in the house they consider their true home. The neighborhood is one of the best in the town for my youngest and we have developed some great friends here. I feel I owe it to my daughters to try and stay in the house.
Thanks for your help.
Paul
Hi, we were behind on our mortgage for quite awhile (120 days +) and are now on a trial modification. Once the modification is complete and our account is reported as current will that improve our credit score at all, or will that only happen with time and consistent payments? Just wondered if we will see an initial boost when it reports as current for the first time in awhile.
Jamie,
It’s possible, though credit is never totally predictable due to the rest of your credit profile/history. It depends if the lates are removed or if they remain and the account is just brought up to current. May also want to see if anything else is holding your score back, such as large outstanding revolving balances.
Hi Colin,
My mortgage was sold to a new lender in February. Not realizing this, I made payment for February to my old lender in early March. I got a call from my new lender around that time stating that they did not receive payment. I advised that I made payment to the old lender. The new lender customer service rep stated that he would research the matter and work on getting payment back from the old lender. Just checked my credit score and found that I was dinged due to late payment. I called the new lender again and was told that they did not receive February payment until early April, which is outside of the 60-day grace period given with transfer of a loan. They advised to dispute with the credit agencies. Is there anything I can do to rectify this situation? Doing some research, several places stated that if payment is sent to the old lender within a certain time frame, the new lender cannot report late payment to credit agencies. Is this correct? Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Daniel,
As the lender suggested, you could dispute it with the credit agencies and speak with your lenders to ensure they don’t fight it so the lates can be removed via dispute.
back in Dec 2010 we had a home, we had renters living in it, we had to move because of military and was told about the loan remodification…but alas they said you have to be X months late and you would qualify after 6 months saying yes you qualify, they decided no you don’t qualify! I quickly put it up for a short sale 7/11, got offer on property before a foreclosure was even started, but took 3 months to close.11-11 I tried getting them to remove the foreclosure started since they accepted the offer before the date they said. I also now have 120+ late. I know they dragged it out, so we would get further behind because they wouldn’t accept payments while waiting for the loan modification process that they decided to deny. Is there any different wording I can use with credit reporting? We are getting ready to look for a new home purchase. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Hi. My loan is served by select portfolio. I was wrongly reported for being late. I appealed it ,and they found it was an error. However, for almost two weeks I have been begging for a letter. One sentence. I need it to qualify for another mortgage rapid restore. They keep giving me the run around. Everything they do has a process. My son has special needs and we are in a rural area. We need this mortgage. I can’t believe how heartless they are being. Unless told them we need this note. I even shared that I just had surgery for breast cancer. They don’t care so wrong.
Chad – how do we get in contact with you to get help for a mortgage late reporting on our credit
Chad- please send us your contact information. Thank you.
For all those looking for Chad’s info, I’m assuming he (and people like him) probably just dispute the information with the credit bureaus in the hope they don’t argue it, which thereby removes the late(s) from your credit report and boosts your credit score. This is how most of those companies operate and you can do it yourself if you’re diligent. And now that disputes can be done online it’s much easier.
I have late payments on my credit that I want to get off I tired to dispute the late payments and was told it was reported right. the problem I have is that I was going threw a home modification and the company wouldn’t except any payments while in the process this company gave me the run around for almost a year saying that they haven’t received all my papers, every month they claimed something wrong on my end, I got tired of them and found help with Fannie Mae whom got my loan modified. the late payments and interest was deferred. what should I do
Leo,
Generally disputes only work if the reporting was in error, though if the company doesn’t respond you can also win the dispute and get the lates removed.
I separated from my (then) wife about 7 years ago and she stayed in the house. Long story short, she couldn’t afford the payments so was late numerous times which of course went on my Credit score.
We finally got divorced almost two years ago, and got the house sold with a “forgivness” amount to be paid to the USDA to pay off the total. We got no money from the house it basically went to the USDA and Realtors for the fees, but was told that debt would be now “settled”.
However they are still on my Credit Report after the fact. Just how long do these take to be taken off, and/or is there anything I can do to take these off my Credit Report now that the house is sold?
Cyth,
Lates are generally reported for seven years but you can always try to dispute the lates with the credit bureaus. Each bureau has an official website that allows you to do this. Sometimes they don’t fight and they get removed that way.
Hey Colin and everyone,
Totally forgot about this forum/blog. I haven’t been back here in a long time.
Colin, I sent you an email.
Respectfully,
C
Chad,
I e-mailed you back but never heard from you…check all your e-mail account folders.
Same here, BofA show’s me late from 11/2008 – 12/2011, I paid every trial payment on time. The loan modification was approved and started on1/2012 and has shown “paid on time” ever since. BofA will not remove the late reporting on my credit, has anyone been successful getting BofA to remove the neg reporting? PLease tell me how!
Chad can I contact you so we can get help for our mortgage lates
Recently we sold a home in which closing date was oct then moved to nov in which we were moved out as told closing date we had to be out then closing date kept getting pushed back and back till finally dec 22. We didn’t make our nov payment as we had thought closing would be done. Now trying to buy a home, old mortgage company has never reported our payment history to credit bureaus or the nov late and new lender wants 12 month payment history to show true credit scores. They have pulled our credit the past three months now I’m afraid we may be in jeopardy of not getting a home due to this mortgage not reporting. I must say we have paid everything on time and scores are mid 600 for both my husband and I. Any suggestions?
Theresa,
If you think you missed a payment you should have made it could come back to haunt you. However, it may be that the loan payoff factored in these payments (or lack thereof). May want to get some clarity there then determine if it’s going to be an issue for you.
I had a medical emergency in 2015, I wrote the bank to say I would be late with my mortgage, but would pay my regular with the missed amount in the next month. I did that, and had the clerk sign the bank slips to ensure that the payments were understood that way. I checked my credit in 2016, and to my amazement the Bank not only had me 30 day late for that one month, but I was 30 day late for every month since! I talked to the local branch, they printed out my pay schedule that showed I was not 30 days late in my actual payments. They said they would take care of it, they never did. I disputed it with the credit bureaus, they said the 30 day late were valid. I have called the bank and got nowhere. They send me threatening letters every month saying I did not pay my mortgage, with varying amounts of what I supposedly owe – together with packets of foreclosure information. I have written them a letter with all my proof, its been beyond 30 days since the last time and no response. I have lost a $20,000 home improvement loan due to this ruining my credit. What should I do?
Michael,
First you may want to get clarification about what exactly you did wrong. Were you late or was the payment amount insufficient, or was it applied incorrectly, thereby making it appears as if payments were late? Lot of possibilities. Generally people file complaints with the CFPB or hire someone to step up the defense if they feel they were mistreated. Maybe you can up-line your complaint at the bank to a higher level of management and get someone to resolve it if they told you it was their mistake in the first place…
I have a question.. my husband and I recently sold a home and loan is paid off. We looked at our credit reports before getting preapproved to start looking for another home. We found that the payment for our home loan had been reported late for 24 consecutive months. It looks like a partial payment was applied to the principal on the loan instead of the payment amount due and through the payment off. I contacted the loan officer and he said the quickest way to get it cleared up was to file a dispute with the credit bureaus. My question is why wouldn’t the loan officer just change the late payments reported to the credit bureaus to current payments? I have filed the disputes and waiting patiently now sure if this was the correct way to get this fixed.
Geri,
The loan officer probably can’t help you, either because the loan isn’t with his/her company and is serviced elsewhere, or because their role just doesn’t give them direct access to the payment/servicing department. A dispute might work, but if the lender/servicer doesn’t realize it was a mix-up and fights it and says you were in fact in default for failing to make full payments, you might have to clarify with the lender/servicer (so they know it was a mix-up and not really a late payment) and dispute again.
Hi Chad. Would you mind sending over your contact info?
Good evening Sir.
I am currently disputing a 30 day delinquency. I am okay with the late fees but not the delinquency report. Can mortgage companies report us on the 29th day as 30 day delinquent. We mailed the check on the 25th of April this year and Mortgage co. in the same State we live claims that they received the check May 2, though customer service initially said May 1. We were reported as delinquent on April 30. What is the timeline to report delinquency? Are consumers at the lender’s mercy in claiming they received the check past the deadline?
Jane,
Sounds like a very close call but if they received payment after the 30 days they might have every right to report it as 30-days late to the credit bureaus. You might be able to plead your case and ask that they remove it in good faith seeing that it was right on the brink of being simply late, and not a derogatory event, especially if you normally pay on time. Sometimes the diplomatic approach can work.
Yeah, but can you remove 24 of them? ;)
Paul,
I applied for a modification thru Bank of America show’s me late from 8/14 thru 4/15. I paid every trial payment on time. The loan modification was approved and started on 7/2015 and has shown “paid on time” ever since. Bank of America will not remove the late reporting on my credit, has anyone been successful with getting Bank of America to remove the negative reporting? Please help if possible.
Jeff,
Are the lates before the loan mod? The modification probably doesn’t excuse the prior late payments, at least when it comes to your credit.
Colin,
There were no late payments before the modification, when I check it earlier as I applied for a car loan they had it down as a foreclosure. They removed that from my credit, under the late payments it says that it was a modification.
Jeff,
If you were never late on your mortgage and only applied for a modification, you may want to reach out to BofA directly and explain that to get them removed. If you already did that, what was the reason why they wouldn’t remove the late payments?
I haven’t tried that yet, would you recommend going thru the 3 credit bureaus or going straight to Bank of America?
Jeff,
Not sure; if you believe your case is a winner, you could go through the bureaus and hope BofA doesn’t bother fighting it, and if they do, be prepared to produce documentation to state your case. Or just try BofA first, though not sure how that’ll go either with a big bureaucratic bank.
Jeff,
I have been working with clients to get a mortgage late off their credit, the problem is even if it is removed by the Credit Bureau, when the Bank reports again the following month, it will be back on. You must get the bank to remove it and they usually won’t. I had the same issue with my clients, removed one month, 2 weeks later when we re-ran credit, disputes were back on and you need the disputes removed for DU approval. I hope this helps. There are other ways of getting financing if you have enough down payment.
Colin,
Hello, how are ya?
Early last year our bank, Wells Fargo, sent us a payment adjustment saying our home insurance went way up and our new payment was $800 more. We totally didn’t have the $ to pay the new amount and I was very suspicious. I dug into it and found that a prior home insurance company had taken an annual payment from my escrow (they admitted I had canceled it and it was their fault….2 months later) and Wells Fargo had charged me double what my normal home insurance is. After 2 months of proving all this and finally receiving a refund check, everything is fine. But there are two late payments on my credit report. I realize that it is my fault for not paying the $800+ more mortgage payment those two months, but what can I do about taking this off my credit report? Is this something I’ll just have to age, or accept?
Thanks a ton!
Olivia,
Since it’s a pretty significant derogatory item to have on your credit report, and they may have had some part in it happening, perhaps pleading with WF to remove the lates in good faith might work?
I have a 760 Fico score and over 800 transunion and experian score and this past month I was 1 hour late in posting my March payment..When I spoke to the robot/customer service and supervisors at Provident Bank they read my their ‘policy’ despite all I had to say..never was late on mortgage and now I am devastated with the thought of my credit scores ..should I try to go to a local Provident Bank and maybe get someone that is human to try to work with? They said it will be reported in 3 days..so should I wait or try to get bank to not report?
Ken,
Might be worth getting proactive and visiting a branch and/or calling and getting a human on the phone to clear up the “mistake” so it doesn’t turn into a big mess over a one hour-late payment. Good luck!
What fees do you charge to remove a late mortgage payment? We had a late payment for March. I called the lender to request they take it off but they didn’t budge. This late payment is the only thing holding me back from getting a cash out refinance.
Read something similar to my situation in an earlier post. Divorced, husband granted the house in final decree. Both of us on the mortgage. He stopped paying for almost 2 years, House now in contract for sale. Do these late charges remain on my credit, even after the loan is satisfied? Any way to have them removed from my credit report, due to his negligence?
Shelby,
A payoff likely wouldn’t remove the lates, otherwise we could all close our accounts in an attempt to boost our credit scores. But it might be possible to submit an online dispute with the credit reporting agencies if you feel your husband was to blame. Will probably need documentation to prove your case though.
Colin,
About 8 years ago, we were trying to secure a modification with Metlife Home Loans due to loss of income (my wife was injured, resulting in 100% disability). During the time we were communicating with MHL, we were unable to make payments.
We sent them all requested documentation, however, they were very backed up with modifications and it took them MONTHS to respond back to us that our information (pay stubs, bank acct info) was too old for them to consider, and we had to send them updated paperwork before they could approve. This resulted in another month long wait until our modification application moved across somebody’s desk, and once again, info too late, needed updated paperwork, back to the back of the line.
This back and forth went on for roughly 6 months (at least) before finally being approved for a modification… the 5 days before our scheduled Sheriff’s Sale on the house. We felt blessed. However, shortly after, MHL “modified” our loan which included all of our missed payments tacked onto the balance of our mortgage. A $216k mortgage was now up to $240k. Metlife promptly sold our mortgage to a new lender, for $240k of course!
We feel as though MHL did not act diligently to properly administer our loan and modification, and thus left us with a greatly inflated mortgage payment. Is there anything we can do?
Jason,
If you’re talking about clearing up your credit report, maybe contact the old and new banks (or loan servicers) and see if they’re willing to provide documentation to remove the lates, based on your argument they didn’t act diligently. You could also make a complaint with the CFPB if you feel you’ve been wronged. It’s tough because these lenders are often offering these modifications voluntarily.
Hi Colin,
I have a 30 day late payment in July 2019. Somehow my bank didn’t send the money over to pay for that month and I called Flagstar. I told them the situation and they said that I needed to discuss this with my bank to see why the transfer was not done. I asked to see if they can remove it but they said no. We worked out an agreement and they sent me a letter stating the agreement as well.
I’d like to refi right now but am afraid that I’ll get denied and what if I were to look somewhere else for the refi instead of my current lender.. would my chances be better?
A 30-day late takes time to be reported as such, so I’m surprised Flagstar didn’t send you a late payment fee before it became a 1×30 to help you avoid it. Even so, you might be able to refinance regardless – lates or not, it’s generally recommended to shop your refinance with multiple lenders other than the one that currently holds your loan for best pricing. A mortgage broker may also be helpful in light of your situation.
Would like Chad’s info for help
I need to remove late payments
Hi Chad, please send me some info about you and your services. You have mentioned you can “clean up” late mortgage reports.
We refinanced last November and was told by our new lender not to pay the November pmt as we had all the documents signed we were promised a November 30th pay off. Unbeknownst to us they were late getting the payoff to the lender by one day resulting in a nonprofit being reported to the credit bureau for November and December even though we have a payoff letter from the mortgage company dating December 11th… I called the mortgage company and they said they are within their rights for the November pmt but denied having reported for December. They said we could dispute only December..
Is there any way to send the lender a forgive me letter to have a second late mortgage payment. Since I have paid off the loan? Has anyone ever seen this happen?
I would like assistance getting mortgage late payments removed.
I have a question my mortgage service company has reported repeatedly late to the 3 (Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax.) However, the latest are shown as 1 or 2 days late. Even on the credit reports. We have never missed a payment by more than 2 or 3 days. NEVER have we been late since 1995. But, that doesn’t show. Yet all these lates are not 30+ days ever. And I have a reconciliation by 2 of the 3 mortgage holders agree. The 3rd went bankrupt and the current one bought those assets for 1.2 Bill for 63b worth of assets. So I have written to them and they sent a letter that they needed more time. In the meantime, the mortgage is not labeled “in dispute” on my credit report per law under the FCC, CFRA, etc. Meant to protect people from these practices. Any ideas?
Heidi
Hey Chad would like your help in this matter
Would like your assistance chad
Hello Chad,
I also have some questions on my mortgage late payments. Can you please send me your contact info ASAP. Please and thank you
We never signed paperwork for loan modification but sure enough the bank pulled paperwork from 2010 with our names signed and not dated by us on company letterhead. The other signer was in NC at the time that worked at the bank..we live in Colorado and we never signed this paperwork.it looks
it’s been photocopied signatures from Wells Fargo. They have been rolling us 60-89 days late since 2013/2014 every since month till this year.they will not accept our biweekly payments and don’t credit the account either when we make the biweekly payments.filed an OCC complaint in September 2020. They report ed us again late in September even after we made both payments with an extra 1/2 months payment since we were paid three times that month. They never withhold or access late fees on our mortgage . On the modification paperwork it states they no ed the maturity date from March 2035 to June 2040. ..whenever agreed to this. We refinanced in February 2005..why five years later would we ever need to ask for a loan modification…we never applied for it. Asking for advice as to how to get 34 late payments that keep rolling over and we are current on our loan..
I am having a tough time understanding the reasoning behind these credit companies. They are slow AF to report on-time payments and good usage but let your card max out for two weeks “literally” and it gets reported immediately and your score drops like a lead balloon 54 points!! But pay on time and keep your utilization under 30% and it crawls up 2-3 points, my mortgage company has not reported in 3 months. There is no rhyme or reason to the madness of how they manage this and there’s no one that addresses these credit companies. thanks for the rant :-)
I found this article and forum very helpful. I am not sure if anyone can help or not. Shortly after we bought our house in 2018, my wife dropped from working full-time to part-time while she went to school for a year. Money was extremely tight but I was able to just keep up with bills. Then as she graduated school, she got sick and was out of work for 5-6 weeks. This killed us financially and had to skip a mortgage payment and play catch up. It took a few months for a full-time position to open up for my wife to be earning pre-mortgage income again. Needless to say I was keeping up with the mortgage payments but still staying 1 payment behind. My credit score shows 8 late payments. It didn’t occur to me until half way through these late payments to ask the mortgage company for help (I was expecting to be able to catch up within a month or so). I started the paperwork and kept sending them any information they needed. They would come back requesting more information, or resending updated information for what i’d previously sent. After 3 months of trying to get their help, my wife had gotten a better job and we were able to fully catch up on the mortgage.
I know this is on us, but is there anything we can do to make it look better on our credit report than 8 late payments? While technically it’s true, I was keeping up with the payments except for 1.
I have just over a year of regular payments on time and was wondering if anyone knew whether i’d be able to refinance later this year? My credit score when I got the mortgage was around 650. Now i’m up to 710 and expect to hit around 740 this summer as i’m paying off credit cards etc.
Or will I have to wait another 6 years for this to be removed from my credit report?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.
I need help removing a recent 30day late that I thought was paid. Please contact me with assistance on the matter with shell point servicing
Hello. I am interested in finding out how to remove the late reporting on my credit report. This is for a mortgage payment
I was 30 days late on a Mtg payment 7 and 8/2018 and ended up selling the House and Mtg was paid off 9/14/18 but Experian shows 30 day late for September….I have disputed this multiple times with lender/credit agency and even CFPB and gotten nowhere. Is this correct? If I missed august payment and went into September, when they are paid off can they report it as late for September even though it was not 30 days late? They have not addressed this part of but did send me a letter that shows when loan was laid off (9/14/18).
Jason,
You might lose the typical 15-day grace period lenders provide if already late the month prior, so paying the 14th of following month could count as another 30-day late?
I understand it could still be considered late. It not 30 days late. I have not gotten an answer from them that says this and it’s not showing late on all 3 bureaus
Did you try to speak directly with the loan servicer in question, and if so, what was their explanation?
My ex cleared out my account and I was out of work for a month – tried explaining it to my mortgage company who also services my loan. They put me on a payment plan and I pay them twice a month and am one payment away from being completely caught up- I did not miss one payment but they keep putting late payments on my credit and said the system does it automatically. Who or how can I get them removed as now I need to refi for a lower rate-did I mention they had the wrong parcel number and was withholding the incorrect tax amount which caused my monthly payment to increase $700 ! I never missed during covid and my first year paid an additional $5,000 down in principal-they don’t want to hear any sob story and will not take off the 3 lates: one 30 and one 60 day late-what if anything can I do? Please help
I mailed our July house payment to the bank on June 29th. The mortgage division of this bank is only 30 miles from our home. At the end of July I mailed our August payment. My husband got a phone call from the bank on 8.12.21 stating that they had never received our July house payment and they applied the August payment to the missed July payment. They waived the late fee and let my husband know that he needs to make the August payment before the 15th. He went straight to the bank and made the payment that day. They reported the late payment from July and it hit his credit in September, it knocked his credit score down by 100 pts. We sent a ” goodwill” letter to the bank, they refuse to remove the ONE late payment. The payment was late, we should have noticed that the check never cleared. We were vacationing and planning a wedding, so there was more money being spent then normal and we just did not notice. We completely over looked it. We are wanting to buy a new car, this current mark on our credit is BAD. Is there anything we can do? Disputing the late payment would not be the right path, since the payment was in fact late. Please help.
Kimberly,
If it was an honest mistake or mix-up you could push on the servicer’s customer department to give it a second look. For example, you’re a long-time customer who has a history of on-time payments and this was clearly an isolated incident. If that doesn’t work and you feel the servicer is overstepping or not being fair, you could mention/look into a complaint to the CFPB or other agencies.
Hi Collin,
Do you happen to know Chad M’s contact info? I noticed in the thread that you were in communications with him. I would like to use his services.
Cheers!
I was under COVID forbearance, but that period was cancelled as we know. The full mortgage deferment was called in. I tried to continue to make monthly payments as I worked on getting either a loan modification or the money together to get the loan up to date. But the Shell Point servicer sent the monthly mortgage payment check back saying it wasn’t the full amount owed. I tried for loan modification twice and was denied. I am now going to pay off the full amount to catch the loan up this month. But while working through loan mod. process, the loan is now 2 payments late. Maybe a third by the time they receive the $30,000 to catch the loan up. What are my options to have those lates removed since the loan will go back to normal?
Tina,
You’d maybe need to file a complaint (e.g. with the CFPB) if they mishandled the forbearance and recorded payments as late, assuming that wasn’t permitted. Essentially need something from the servicer to get the credit bureaus to acknowledge the “mistake” and remove any late payments from your credit report.
Back in 2018 we had our son in November. December i asked to defer the December payment. I was informed they did not do that but was approved for a payment plan. I completed all required payments for 2019. I have not missed any other payments. the plan stated that collections would call but to notify them of the plan which i did multiple times. today I pulled my credit and the have reported a 30 day late every month since May 2019. this is hurting my family so bad as we need a cash out on our equity. now I am having to get three years of evidence together. go to Kinkos print off and fax it to them!
Shellpoint Mortgage solicited me for a loan modification after the forbearance period expired during Covid. I was told in October 2021, not to pay any of the mortgage due until the Modification process was completed. After modification approval I paid into a mandatory “Trial Period” and was successful. By Spring my modification was installed permanently. That Spring, after all was approved and going smoothly, Shellpoint reported my mortgage late for 120 days starting in October, when I was approached by the lender to modify, dropping my credit score from 776 to just 500 points. According to the Federal Cares Act, no derogatory entries are permitted during the COVID forbearance, including any arrangement made with the lender during the pandemic. The pandemic state of emergency was not lifted for another year. Shellpoint Mortgage is a debt collector and a bunch of crooks. They will not help me and the bureaus where I have disputed the charges, have sided with Shellpoint. The Attorney General will not help us, and there are many like me out there. The Credit Bureaus have too much power and ruin lives when mistaken.