 TITLE: Why Did My Credit Score Drop? CONTENT: You've Experienced a Major Event Such as Foreclosure or Bankruptcy\n------------------------------------------------------------------\nThe late payments that often lead up to a bankruptcy or foreclosure harm your credit scores—and the events themselves can make matters worse.\nBankruptcy is a legal process initiated by borrowers looking to get relief from debt payments, and it's the most harmful single event to a consumer's credit. Foreclosure is when your mortgage lender takes possession of your house, often following four consecutive months of missed payments, and is second only to bankruptcy in terms of credit harm.\nIn addition to damaging your credit score, either event can disqualify you from certain types of borrowing in the future. A mortgage lender may be unlikely to take you on as a borrower if you have a foreclosure in your past, for instance. A legitimate foreclosure mark on your credit report will stay there for seven years.\nThe amount of time a bankruptcy stays on a credit report depends on the type of bankruptcy filed. Chapter 7 bankruptcy, for instance, appears on your report for 10 years from the date you filed, while Chapter 13 bankruptcy appears for seven years. END