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Credit Advice
Topics addressed on March 31, 2011:
Mortgage holder must make payments even if not living in house
Dear Experian,
If my name is on the mortgage but my parents lived in the house and were delinquent on payments is there any way I can show that it wasn't me living in the house and that they were the ones that were making the payments?
- JLC
Dear JLC,
If the mortgage is in your name, it doesn’t matter who lives in the house. You are responsible for the payments.
The mortgage documents are a legally binding contract. When you signed that contract you became legally responsible for making the payments even if you didn’t live in the house.
If your parents cosigned the mortgage, they will share equal responsibility for the debt and it will also appear on their credit histories. But, as the primary mortgage holder the account and the late payments will be part of your credit report.
Thanks for asking.
- The "Ask Experian" team