My whole plan to buy a duplex in Cleveland fell apart last month because of one old medical bill

I had my credit up to 680 and was ready to go, but a $1,200 collection from two years ago popped up on my Experian report right before the lender pulled it. The mortgage guy said it dropped my score 40 points and killed my rate. I had to scramble and get a pay-for-delete letter from the hospital, which took three weeks. Has anyone else had a surprise collection tank their housing application right at the finish line?

3 comments

3 Comments

wren23014d ago

Classic medical billing, always showing up fashionably late to ruin your life.

shane_bell14d ago

Yeah, it's like they wait until you've forgotten the whole thing. I read about a guy who got a bill for a flu shot two years later, @wren230. The real trick is when the first bill looks fine, so you pay it. Then six months later the "corrected" one shows up for three times the amount. You can't even plan for it. It just hangs out there, waiting to wreck your budget at the worst time.

hannahcraig13d ago

It's the same energy as a parking ticket you find under old mail. The whole system runs on surprise fees.