How to Wreck Your Credit Score  by Karen Blumenthal
Tuesday, May 24, 2011  

Don't underestimate the harm that even one missed mortgage payment can do to your credit score -- especially if you had good credit to begin with. 

The severe consequences underscore that you shouldn't shrug off even an accidentally missed payment. Instead, you should pay it and call the lender right away, begging for forgiveness before it mars your credit record. 

In an unusually specific commentary to lenders, Fair Isaac (NYSE: FICO - News), the creator of the FICO score, recently spelled out the severe consequences to the credit scores of borrowers who are 30 days late on their mortgages -- as well as the long-term impact of failing to repay the whole mortgage. 

It isn't a pretty picture.

Being 30 days late on a house payment -- even if it is an accident -- can knock 100 points off a pristine 780 credit score, moving you from qualifying for the very best interest rates to the edge of subprime territory.

The actual numerical drop is less severe if your starting credit score is 720 or 680, but the impact is greater, since your new score is likely to sink to a level where new credit is hard to get and very expensive.

The FICO score ranges from a low of 300 to 850, with scores of about 750 or higher generally qualifying for the best loan terms.

The details provide a warning for anyone whose home is way underwater and is tempted to simply walk away, or considering a "short sale." That is when the sale price is less than the amount you owe and the borrower doesn't make up the difference. More than 350,000 homes have been sold this way since 2008, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

FICO officials usually dodge questions about the specific impact of actions on scores. But Joanne Gaskin, director of FICO mortgage markets, compiled the data partly to counter incorrect information, such as recommendations that people stop paying their mortgages so they can negotiate with a lender, she says.

FICO says a foreclosure or short sale where the size of the unpaid balance is reported are equally devastating to a good or excellent credit score, reducing it by as much as 150 points, to the high 500s or low 600s. A rarer "deed in lieu of foreclosure" -- in which the borrower voluntarily transfers ownership of the home to the lender -- may have less impact on an excellent score.

Recovering your original score takes about seven years. That also is how long the information stays on your credit report, where insurers and potential employers can see it. Returning to a mediocre 680 score may take only three years.

Here are some other lessons from the data:

• Your past behavior counts, but your current behavior matters more.

Credit scores are intended to measure the risk that you won't repay a current or future debt. So your careful payments over many years translate into a higher starting score.

But your score takes the biggest hit of all when you are 30 days late on a payment, falling 70 to 100 points in the FICO example. It drops less when you are 90 days late and if you default. The reason? The first missed payment "captures a good deal of the risk of the consumer," Ms. Gaskin says.

• The best way to rebuild a damaged credit score, ironically, is to use credit.

Avoiding borrowing altogether means "you've frozen your credit history in a negative state," says Maxine Sweet, vice president of public education for credit bureau Experian. You will be better off using a credit card judiciously and paying it off promptly, adding good-behavior points to your record.

• A rotten score hurts more than you think.

A person with a 620 score would pay almost 12% interest on a four-year $25,000 car loan, compared with less than 5% for someone with a 780 score -- a difference of almost $4,000 over the life of the loan. On a 30-year fixed-rate $250,000 mortgage, a person with a 620 score might qualify for a 6% rate, but probably wouldn't be able to get mortgage insurance, which is required if your down payment less than 20%. A person with excellent credit might land a rate less than 5% and pay about $3,000 a year less.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Jan. 20, 2011 – Sales of existing homes and condominiums in Florida rose in December, a positive trend also reported at the close of 2010 as statewide sales activity posted gains over the previous year, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®.

A total of 15,550 existing single-family homes sold statewide in December, up 4 percent from the 14,923 homes sold in December 2009. The statewide existing home median sales price last month was $133,100; in December ’09 it was $139,800 for a 5 percent decrease, according to Florida Realtors’ data. However, December’s statewide existing home median price was higher than the $132,700 reported in November 2010. The national median existing single-family home price was $171,300 in November, according to the latest data available from the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less.

In December, 12 of Florida’s metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) reported higher existing home sales and 14 MSAs reported higher existing condos sales. In the year-to-year comparison for statewide existing condo sales, a total of 6,673 units changed hands last month, up 12 percent from the 5,955 condos sold in December 2009. The statewide existing condo median sales price in December was $88,100; in December ’09 it was $106,700 for a 17 percent decrease. The national median existing condo price was $165,300 in November, according to NAR.

Looking back on 2010, Florida’s existing home sales rose 5 percent for the year, with a total of 170,848 homes sold compared to 162,873 homes sold in 2009. Statewide existing home sales activity in 2010 also was 37.5 percent higher than 2008 statewide sales, records show. The statewide existing home median price for 2010 was $136,500; it was $142,500 in 2009 for a 4 percent decrease.

“It’s encouraging to close out the year for Florida’s housing market with increased sales activity,” said 2011 Florida Realtors President Patricia “Pat” S. Fitzgerald, manager/broker-associate with Illustrated Properties in Hobe Sound. “The homebuyer tax credits helped to fuel home and condo sales during the first half of 2010, while favorable affordability conditions and historically low mortgage rates continued to bring buyers into the market in the waning months of the year.

“Looking to the future, 2011 is going to be a year of opportunity for buyers and sellers,” Fitzgerald added. “Industry analysts report seeing steady economic improvements, including more jobs and stronger consumer confidence, which will have a positive, stabilizing impact on the housing market.”

In Florida’s condo market, a total of 72,050 units sold statewide in 2010, a gain of 29 percent compared to 55,900 units sold in 2009. Statewide existing condo sales activity in 2010 was up 90.6 percent over the 2008 sales level, records show. The statewide existing condo median price in 2010 was $91,300; it was $108,000 in 2009 for a 15 percent decrease.

The latest industry outlook from NAR offers positive predictions for 2011. “Continuing gains in home sales are encouraging, and the positive impact of steady job creation will more than trump some negative impact from a modest rise in mortgage interest rates, which remain historically favorable,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “All the indicator trends are pointing to a gradual housing recovery.”

In December, the interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.71 percent, down from the 4.93 percent average during the same month a year earlier, according to Freddie Mac. Florida Realtors’ sales figures reflect closings, which typically occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written.

© 2011 Florida Realtors®