How to settle credit debt for leaving apartment 3 months early?
It’s been about 3 years since I had to break a year apartment lease to move for work. I tried to talk to them to work something out and they said sorry you have to pay for the last 3 months of the lease. I didn’t have that kind of money to fork over so I had to just leave. Now they have ruined my credit score saying I owe them ,600. My rent was 0/month. I can’t get a house because of this so my question is what do I need to do to get this off my credit report ASAP? Credit lawyer? If they started renting the apartment I was in say the next month, are they allowed to collect from the new tenants and me at the same time? Is that some kind of double payment? Thank you in advance for any advise you guys & girls have!!!
-I hate the US credit system! Help!
- First, whatever you do, DO NOT tell the debt collectors that you’re trying to clear your credit rating to get a mortgage…if you do they’ll hold your credit rating hostage to extort a lot of money from you.
Make all offers in writing: offer to settle for 25%. Example letter:
I am willing to resolve this issue for $600 if your firm sends me a signed agreement on your letterhead that you will remove all negative notations from my credit report after the agreed-to amount is paid to you. Upon receipt of this letter I will mail you a USPS money order for this amount.
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Again, they are not going to want to do this…if they simply refuse to remove it, then you want to negotiate that they will update your credit report to "Paid in Full.”
Get all terms of any settlement deals IN WRITING FIRST, then you pay. Never accept verbal promises over the phone…they’ll promise you anything over the phone to get your money then they’ll deny that any agreement was ever made once they have your money. Pay only via USPS money order. Photocopy and keep in your permanent records. Never, ever give them your checking account numbers for payment.
June 29th, 2010 at 10:01 pmYou were and still are responsible to pay the remainder of the rent for the end of your lease. If you hire a lawyer, you will end up paying the lawyer $3600 and then still having to pay the $3600 to the landlord. Pay your bill. You owe the rent because you signed the lease. If you think that landlord had another tenant in the apartment who was paying rent during the time of your lease, then go to small claims court, fill out a simple form, pay a small fee, and tell your story to a judge to try to get out of this mess. However, if you wait a few years, this problem will disappear from your report and you will have no problem. Good luck!!
June 29th, 2010 at 10:01 pmDon’t bother getting a lawyer. When you break a lease, there are penalties.
No, they cannot collect rent from you AND a new tenant if they re rented if before the 3 mos was up that you owed.
If this $3600 is in collections, you could always try to get a settlement for less in writing before paying it off in order to help with getting your home loan.
June 29th, 2010 at 10:01 pm