Protect Your Credit Rating During Covid-19

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It’s imperative that you protect your credit rating at all costs. 

Despite what is happening today, it’s crucial you take appropriate steps to maintain a good credit score during this uncertain time. Credit is your financial life line. Personal loans, car loans, mortgages and credit cards all depend on having good credit, so it’s critical you protect your score. 

Mortgage Deferrals 

Many mortgage borrowers have deferred their mortgage payments up to six months to help with the cost of living and taking a pay cut if temporarily laid off.

While deferring your mortgage is a mutual agreement between you and your lender, mistakes can happen in the reporting methods. Sometimes, a deferred payment will get reported as a missed or late payment and can negatively affect your score.

With any deferral, it’s critical that you get a written copy of the approved deferral and your new mortgage terms (which include a new amortization summary reflecting interest paid on deferred payments). Your lender should either email or mail those forms to you, so you can keep them for your records. 

If there is a derogatory remark on your credit report regarding your mortgage payments at a later date, you can use the deferral agreement to have your lender OR Equifax and TransUnion make the changes immediately. 

Minimum Payments

If you are unemployed at the moment, you may think you don’t have to make your minimum credit card payments because of the current situations. Unfortunately, unless your lender has specifically stated you do not have to make credit card payments, you will still need to continue to protect your score. 

By law, you have 30 days after the minimum payment due date to put your account in good standing before they report it to the two credit reporting agencies. Late or missed credit card payments can have a devastating effect on credit and can create challenges when trying to get further loans. 

Debt Consolidation

If you are currently employed but feeling very uncertain about the current situation and the debts you have, consider a debt consolidation. You can merge your unsecured debt into your mortgage loan to create one very low and affordable monthly payment with a substantially lower interest rate.  


Do you have questions?

Call or write. 


Sarah A. Colucci
Mortgage Agent Lic. M14000929 
Mortgage Edge, Lic. 10680 
Direct (647) 773-4849
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