My Dad Married a Short Sale

My dad recently married a woman with an FHA home loan.  Although they have been trying to sell the house, the market is terrible and it isn’t moving. 

They’re having trouble keeping up with the payments on her house as well as the house they’re living in and are considering a short sale. 

While I know it can impact the owner’s credit score, I wonder what effect, if any, it might have on my dad’s credit. 

He is not named on her mortgage, but they are married.  Will the short sale hurt his credit?

Jessica

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Hi Jessica,

The short sale should not hurt his credit at all.  It is possible that the lis pendens includes his name (the notice of the foreclosure action) and it is also possible that contractors for the credit bureaus locate that information and add it to his credit file; however, doing so would be in error as it is not his foreclosure and a dispute would remove it entirely.

Thanks for the questions and hope this helps.

Paul