Credit Impact of Real Estate Short Sales & Deeds In Lieu

Many San Diego homeowners mistakenly believe that their credit rating will be better off with a short sale vs. a foreclosure. This belief may be seriously flawed.

Short sales, deeds in lieu of foreclosure and foreclosure usually don't minimize the impact on a borrower's credit score. All three proceedings have roughly the same negative impact on an individual's credit score, according to Craig Watts, a spokesman for Fair Isaac Corp., which created the widely used FICO score.

Mr. Watts says that to date little analysis has been done distinguishing, for instance, the credit risk of individuals who completed a short sale versus those involved in a foreclosure. For that reason, "the model ends up treating them [a short sale, a deed in lieu of foreclosure, and a foreclosure] all the same."     San Diego income property