Does Making a Late Mortgage Payment Affect My Credit?

Mortgage payments are arguably a debtor's most important financial obligation. Under normal circumstances most people with mortgages make that payment first, even if it means skipping a credit card payment or paying the car loan a few days late. A late mortgage payment can have a very negative effect on credit, and paying the mortgage late month after month may suggest to creditors that you are having significant financial problems.

Reporting

Mortgage companies report mortgage payment information each month to major credit bureaus such as Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Once the mortgage company reports a late payment it remains on credit reports for seven years. Just one missed payment could make a debtor ineligible for an important loan. For example, some mortgage companies may not approve an applicant for refinancing if the person has paid the mortgage late in the past 12 months.

Credit Scores

Credit scores can plummet if a person makes a late mortgage payment. Credit scores range from 350 to 850, with scores of 720 or higher representing excellent credit. All credit situations are different, making it impossible to say exactly how making a late mortgage payment would affect a person's score. However, MSN Money reports that one late payment could result in an immediate loss of up to 110 points for a person with a 780 credit score, dropping the score to around 690. A person with a 720 score, according to MSN Money, could lose 90 points, and a person with a 680 score could lose 80 points.

Repair

Credit scores can plummet in a month's time but they do not recover as quickly. A person losing 110 points on his credit score because of a late mortgage payment may need two or three years to rebuild his credit score. That could mean paying higher interest rates on all new credit during that period, resulting in significantly more money spent on finance charges on new accounts.

Solutions

It is imperative to make mortgage payments on time. Some debtors contemplating making a late mortgage payment are more concerned with avoiding the threshold for foreclosure. That's usually an issue after the mortgage is two payments behind. However, the damage to credit scores is potentially severe even if the debtor avoids foreclosure.