Q1) "How long does a satisfied judgment remain on a credit report?"
A1) As for duration, a satisfied judgment is treated no differently than any other debt. It stays on the report for the full 7 years.
Q2) "How does a satisfied judgment affect a person's credit rating?"
A2) As long as the record shows that the judgement was satisfied, it should have no direct impact on the credit rating or score. One thing that I offer to my judgment creditors as an inducement to pay is that I will note the credit file as "paid as agreed", which is the best you can get. After all, my main goal is to GET paid... not necessarily to punish the debtor after the fact.
Q3) "How many points does the judgment lower a person's credit rating?"
A3) Though each CRA has their own FICO scoring criteria, I don't believe that a paid judgment has any negative affect. In fact, since a judgment is just a determination of a dispute, it really doesn't PROVE any negative value to the a creditor... in fact, I would say a PAID judgment could help a credit review since it shows that the debtor took care of his/her obligation once the dispute was settled.
