I went thru a rather financially disasterous divorce recentlty. I live in FL so when we sold the house we lost all of the equity, then I lost my job, tod boot!! Needless to say, my credit which had alway been 700+ has plummeted. While trying to get the score back up I have been doing a lot of research …. boy are we getting “ripped off” by big banks and the credit bureaus. They are in NO rush to change things and are completely satisfied with keeping the consumer in the darK about the scoring models they use .
If you are in poor financial shape, or worse, don’t even know what your credit profile looks like, I suggest you take a look and start reviewing your reports…ignorance is NOT bliss in this situation.
I don’t really know what impact the divorce had on my score,per se, but I wrote to 3 Credit Bureaus asking them to separate my credit score from my ex-husband’s.
Anybody else in this situation and would like to share some good strategies for cleaning up this mess & regaining a good score???
Thanks!
p.s. I dropped your name on Gina's post, Barb. ;)
I’m in a similar situation. Divorced, my home is going through short sale … which means the money I hoped to get from it to move on with has disappeared! I am an unemployed teacher (after 13 years). I have one kid in college and one in middle school. My credit score was always the best … now mine is likely to plummet because of someone elses bad (secretive) decisions. PS I happen to live in Florida too. I know there must be other women accross the country caught in similar situations. Maybe we should start a support/advocate group for women and children caught in this situation. Anyone interested contact me Valerie at VTyalinH@Hotmail.com
I am a divorced, downgraded teacher facing similar issues. I have been satisfied with the service I am getting from Lexington Law. They are helping me to improve my credit. Cost: $99.95 one-time fee for the retaining fee. $79.95/month after that, depending on your service level. You can downgrade and upgrade your service level, as you wish.
They are available from 8:00am to 8:00pm in California. Phone — 1-800-829-5198.
Physical Address:
Lexington Law California, a d/b/a of Adam C. Fullman, Attorney at Law
11580 Trask Avenue
Garden Grove, California 92843
To Mail Correspondence:
215 East Orangthorpe Avenue #322
Fullerton, California 92832
Thanks, Pauline. Yes, I have heard good things about Lexington Law. I am associated with Esquire Credit Solutions, in Boca Raton, FL. I know the attorney who founded the firm and trust him implicitly…can’t be too careful these days — unfortunate, but there are scam artists out there!!
Good luck with your home sale!! Selling a house is stressful enough as it is, but under the circumstances of a Short Sale, things can even become more stressful. Just remember “This too shall pass”. And remind yourself, better days are ahead … after all, we live in the “Sunshine State”, right?
And don’t sweat your Credit Score — you can always work on improving it, Just focus on your new life in front of you, beckoning you to go in different directions. Yes, it may not look like what you hoped it would be if you had your equity still, but who knows, you may discover that it is an opportunity you can capitalize on and make a new fantastic life for you and your children.
Best of luck,
I have been through this, as well. The advice that I have been given involves time and a strict plan. You can find help on web sites such as yahoo finance, bank one, etc. It seems that the old fashioned way of establishing yourself and a good payment history is the way to go. Just so you know, I live in Las Vegas and am upside down in my house. That came about because I used some of the equity to finance repair damages that my ex and his kids did to my house. It is a long road, but don’t give up and get discouraged. Information and knowledge are your best weapons and there are many online sources that are free and are a good place to start. Talking to consumer credit counselling (the non profit ones) can also behelpful. Those of you that are teachers, do you have membership in the NEA? They also have a lot of free information to help with financial issues.