There is information out there that says a foreclosure will remain on your credit report for a minimum of seven years. The truth is a maximum of seven years.
This information is wrong; the truth is credit reporting is entirely voluntary on behalf of the lenders. A lender can remove a negative mark from your credit at any point in time and do not have to report the negative mark in the first place.
I would first recommend that you dispute the listing directly with the credit bureaus. This is done by mailing a dispute letter to each credit bureau.
In this dispute letter you are challenging the validity or accuracy of the foreclosure. Common reasons for a challenge include; account paid, not my account, information is wrong, item out of date, etc.
It is common for credit bureaus to deem an initial dispute letter invalid. They will respond and ask you for more information about the dispute. This is a common stall tactic for the bureaus. They use this because it only costs them money to conduct an investigation.
You will have to send your dispute letter again; if you are persistent you can submit a valid dispute letter. The bureaus will then conduct an investigation into your negative mark.
If they are unable to verify the foreclosure then it must be removed from your credit report. Since the housing crisis many lending institutions have gone under or are unwilling to spend money verifying debt. With some luck your listing will be unverifiable.
If you are having trouble submitting a valid dispute or the foreclosure is verified then I recommend a credit repair service. They often have credit lawyers on their staffs that have an expert understanding of credit laws. These lawyers can use advanced dispute tactics or if necessary even take your case to court.
We expect some new case precedents with the increasing number of individuals going through foreclosure. Thus it may be in your interest to hire a service, especially if the foreclosure is not your only negative mark.
Your other option is to negotiate with the lender. You can make a settlement offer directly with the lender and in exchange have the foreclosure removed from your credit report.
In sum, items of bad credit do not have to stay on your credit report. You can remove negative items and clean your credit report.
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