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One item of interest for people regarding credit reports is the duration of certain negative marks on credit reports. So how long is that nasty mark against you going to remain?

This is a question that crosses the minds of numerous individuals attempting to repair their credit. Everyone deserves a fresh start but this takes time. The following guide will help you as you determine how long it will take you to repair your credit in certain instances.

A Brief Guide

In case you are wondering-and you have every right as a consumer not to be ashamed to wonder-this is a short list of the negative items that appear on your credit report and the duration of each:

Lawsuit or Judgment-Usually 7 years, or until statute of limitations is up (may be different depending upon where you live).

Bankruptcy-Usually at least 7 years, but up to 10 years

Tax Liens-Seven years after they are paid

Student loan defaults-Seven years following certain guarantor actions

More Info

Usually a negative mark on your credit report starts from the time you were first late making a payment. Either that or it is the time your payment went into collection.

It does NOT usually start from the time you made a payment on the account. Of course, there is a very sticky situation pertaining to this that you should be aware of.

Sometimes collection agencies will update their reporting statuses. This is hard to explain except that it extends the time that certain accounts appear on your credit report.

Why even care?

This is a great question to ask. The reason you should care is because it can affect every area of your financial life. You may want to buy a house some day or even be able to get cell phone service or a new car. The more you know about how to repair your credit the better off you are.

The reason people hire a credit repair attorney (a.k.a. debt attorney) is to help them work out their financial situation. However, in this case it is more than that. They usually are on the verge of or are already in legal trouble.

The Role of a Credit Attorney

A basic service provided by a credit repair attorney is this: to answer common questions about budgeting and crediting as well as legal rights pertaining to debt negotiation.

They also help assess length of time needed to repair credit. They also negotiate in the event a client is in legal trouble and is facing judgment or lawsuit.

While helping a client who is facing legal troubles, they also present a variety of payment options. Often people in debt are spared the plight of bankruptcy but even if this action is necessary a debt attorney is the ideal professional to turn to.

Another major issue is victim rights. Often if there are negative marks on a credit report that are not the fault of a consumer this can be reversed. A debt attorney may help individuals find a way to deal with it and/or at least help the person right letters of request.

The letters of request would be for alerts. It would also be to have negative marks on their credit to be taken off. Usually there is a process of proving that the identity theft did take place, which involves tracking unauthorized usage of personal and financial info.

Sometimes a credit repair attorney can also help fix honest mistakes. For instance, maybe a creditor may have forgotten to mark a balance paid and you have proof that you have paid it.

If you show the person representing you all relevant receipts and records, it can help get your report corrected much faster. This will help you on your way to obtaining better for yourself in the future.