The Impact of Missed Payments and Foreclosures on Credit Scores

HTaufReisen

Level 2 Member
http://www.clevelandfed.org/research/workpaper/2014/wp1423.pdf

Executive Summary ;-)
This paper debunks the common perception that “foreclosure will ruin your credit
score.” Using individual-level data from a credit bureau matched with loan-level
mortgage data, it is estimated that the very first missed mortgage payment leads to
the biggest reduction in credit scores
. The effects of subsequent loan impairments
are increasingly muted. Post-delinquency foreclosures have only a minimal
effect on credit scores. Moreover, credit scores improve substantially a year after
borrowers experience 90-day delinquency or foreclosure
. The data supports one
possible explanation of this improvement: the absence of mortgage payments
relaxes the borrowers’ budget constraint, allowing them to restore other forms of
credit.
 
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