How Long Does A Repo Stay On Your Credit (And Why)?

Exact Answer: Up to 7 years

The lender would take away the assets of the borrower, such as vehicles and this state is called repossession. This condition would arise when the borrower fails to repay the loan taken from the lenders. The loan is given under various principles, and guidelines and this has to be strictly followed.

The keys to the borrower’s vehicle can be taken by the lender if the car loan is not paid on time. Any case of repossession would impact the borrower’s history and credit score directly. This repossession case would stay on the credit for around 7 years. The borrower’s repossession history would cause trouble for taking any future loan.

How Long Does A Repo Stay On Your Credit?

The repossession can stay on the credit for a long time, and this can prevent the borrower from fresh credit. The repossession is a type of negative impression for the lenders about the borrowers. If someone with a repo qualified for the loan, then the interest rate should be extremely high.

The high-interest rates are imposed to compensate for any risk taken by the lender for giving (lending) the credit. For example, if a borrower has a repossession history on the credit, then it means the borrower was not able to repay the owed money in time. Therefore, the lender has to take the vehicle key from the borrower till the payment for the loan was successfully done.

The negative effects of the repo are very high as it is the last step taken by any lender for getting back the owed money. A person can rebuild the credit score by clearing out all the due payments. Paying the outstanding debts can be a step to rebuild the credit score after a repo. The borrower can check if any due amount is still there for the repo by the lender.

A good credit behavior of the borrower can have a good impression on the lender. The open credit accounts should be maintained by the person with timely payment.

Why Does A Repo Stay On Your Credit For This Long?

The credit history can be affected highly if the EMIs and loans are not paid on time. The repo will be visible on the credit from the date when the borrower stopped paying the due amount. The person can always talk to the lender for any other way to pay the due amount for removing the impact of the repo on the credit.

Refinancing the loan can be a good idea to get rid of the negative impression of the repo. Seven years is the standard time for the effect of the repo on the credit. If someone paid off the due amount after a repo then it’s in the hand of the lender to mark it as paid in full. Some lenders may remove the repo account and this will increase the credit score.

The borrower can talk to the lender for removing the account. If the lender agrees then the borrower can take a written statement for the agreement before making the payment. If the borrower paid the amount but the lender is not agreeing to remove the account. In this situation, the repo would stay for around 7 years on the credit.

A settlement process can work for a repo between the lender and the borrower. Be careful before thinking about settlement for repo as it would reflect on the credit. In some situations, the borrower may get a low credit score and may have to pay extra taxes for the remaining amount.

Conclusion

The loan payments can be adjusted by talking and negotiating with the lender. The lender is the only person who can delay the loan payment. The borrower can also talk to the lender for helping and easing the repayment schedule. The repossession loop could be handled well by maintaining a good credit score.

Paying all the amount in time could be the only rescue from getting trapped in the repossession loop.

References

1. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0021909604051182
2. https://heinonline.org/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/stflr22&section=11