Expert: Creditwrench - 5/19/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hi there. My bf has an old Discover account from 1998. It was charged off
then and sold many times. It was finally sold to an attorney in FL who placed
a judgement on it in 2002. (this is 5 years after discover charged the acct off)
We are trying to buy a house FHA and I found out we couldn't wiithout
settling the judgment. I tracked the company down who is now trying to get
us for $9203 on a $2900 judgement (that $2900 shows on the credit report-
TU). We hired an attorney to handle this but the judgement attorney is not
returning phone calls or letters. We are due to close in one week (5/28) Here's
my questions: How long after an account is charged off by credit card
company can someone buy it and file a judgement on it? Is there an SOL to
that? Also, if this filing attorney decides not to return phone calls and I lose
the house, what legal retributions do I have against him?? I'm doing all that I
can to get this settled all in good faith. This attorney is in FL and we are in NC
so it's not like we can just go to the office. Any advice is really greatly
appreciated!

ANSWER: You got a real problem indeed because the lenders don't care about statute of limitations or anything else. They just demand that any judgments or debts be paid off before they will loan any money. There is nothing I can do to help you that will get you fixed up by 5/28 and you will probably not be able to close unless some miracle comes to pass.

Then you will have to find a new lender and that will take considerable time as you can quite well imagine.

Sorry but I know of no way that I can help you that fast.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I don't have a problem paying the money off and the lender knows this. My
problem is with getting in actual contact with the attorney who filed the
judgement. Can I send someone to the courthouse and pay the judgment there
or does it have to go through the attorney who filed it?

Answer
It is my understanding that it is possible to pay the court and they will immediately release the judgment. Call up the clerk of the court and ask them whether that can be done in your locality and how to do that if they have a mechanism in place for that purpose.

Also ask them what happens to the money if the plaintiff cannot be located. After all, the court will most likely only send out a couple of notices or so and then forget all about it and the money sets there in some account drawing interest for the court funds to spend in any way they choose to spend it.

So see if there is a way the money will be returned to you if they can't be found and paid.