Satisfaction of Judgement Help

Hi Everybody,

 

Appreciate the help from the community.  

 

On my credit report I have a negative item (collection).  This stems from co-signing an apartment lease for my sister-in-law in California.  I live in NJ.  She broke the lease and did not pay any fees.  Subsequently they went to court, I didn’t receive any paperwork, and they filed a judgement against her and me.  My sister-in-law didn’t help with this which is a totally another issue.

 

Since then, the amount $4500 was given to IC Systems to collect.  They actually provided all the judgement information to me via fax.  

 

I got a lawyer in California which stated the case would cost considerable money to reopen and preferred contacting the management company.  He was able to negotiate a reduced satisfaction of judgement for me specifically.  

 

My question is that currently, my credit took a hit of 60pts with the negative item (collection).  I have seen in the forums that satisfaction of judgements will decrease your credit score also.

 

Should I pay the reduced amount, then send a GW to the court to attempt a removal of the judgement from my records.  Any help or advice is appreciated. 

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