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Tips for Tips for Tips for

Buying a Home with Buying a Home with Buying a Home with 3 Bad CreditBad CreditBad Credit

Am I Ready Am I Ready Am I Ready

to Buy to Buy to Buy 9 a Home?a Home?a Home?

Tips for Tips for Tips for

Buying a Buying a Buying a

Home with Home with Home with

Bad CreditBad CreditBad Credit

P urchasing a home today is harder

than ever. If you have bad credit,

it can seem nearly impossible. Thankfully,

there are things that you can do to lessen the

chance of rejection when it comes time to buy

a home of your own, even if your credit is less

than stellar.

Here are a few simple things that you can

do to raise the odds in your favor.

In a lot of cases, a bad credit doesn’t stem

from something you have done, but rather from

honest errors and mistakes on the report. It is

important to review not only your credit rating

on a regular basis, but also the report that goes

along with it. After all, that’s the only way that

you’re going to catch the mistakes, out of date

information, and evidence of fraud that could

be bringing your score down.

Check Your Credit ReportCheck Your Credit ReportCheck Your Credit Report

If you’re preparing to buy a home, chances

are you’ve got a steady income, and you under-

stand how to budget. If this is a case, take

some time and try to see if you can get pre-

qualified for a loan. If you can, this will go a

long way to offering an assurance to the pro-

spective seller that you have the capabilities of

meeting the demands of home ownership. Not

only that, but you’ll know exactly how much

you can afford to borrow; something that some

buyers fail to realize. Plus, it can be a great

way to rebuild your credit. Paying a mortgage

on time can boost your credit score immensely.

Get PreGet PreGet Pre---Approved for aApproved for aApproved for a

LoanLoanLoan

Perhaps one of the most overlooked strate-

gies to buy a home when you have bad credit is

to wait. If you take the steps to improve your

credit, such as paying your bills on time, pay-

ing down your credit cards, and clearing up

any misinformation about your credit history,

the chances of you getting a mortgage loan ap-

proved will be greater than ever. Also, it will

give you a chance to save up some money for a

sizable down payment, something that is pretty

much a requirement during these economic

times.

Bide Your TimeBide Your TimeBide Your Time

By doing these three things, and living in a

manner that is not above your financial means,

you should be able to purchase a house, even if

your credit is less than perfect.

Am I Ready Am I Ready Am I Ready

to Buy to Buy to Buy

a Home?a Home?a Home?

Y ou’ve lived in your own apart-

ment for a while now, and

you’re starting to consider the benefits of

owning your own home. But the question is,

are you ready to buy a home? Today, the real

estate market is certainly working in your

favor. Because the market itself is down, there

are plenty of bargains to be had if you know

where to look. Plus you know that owning a

home can be one of the most successful long

term investments that you can make.

If you’re curious to see if home ownership

is in your immediate future, here are a few

things that you should definitely consider.

Before you even start looking for a home to

buy, you have to make sure you can get a

mortgage to pay for it. Generally speaking, the

bank or other lending institution will look at

three main areas of concern. The first is your

credit score, the second is the amount of your

down payment, and the third is your debt to in-

come ratio.

The credit score is a useful indication of

how diligent you have been in paying your

bills and debts on time, a good score indicates

that you may be a good risk for the lending

institution to make. The amount of your down

Getting Qualified for a Getting Qualified for a Getting Qualified for a

MortgageMortgageMortgage

payment can not only lower the overall amount

of the loan, but also indicates your ability to

save and budget your finances toward a goal.

Needless to say, more banks would be

interested if your down payment is close to

20% or 30% of the purchase price. Finally the

mortgage lender will look at your debt to

income ratio as an indication of whether or

not you can afford the monthly expenses asso-

ciated with owning a home. In order for you to

get qualified or even approved for a mortgage

of any size, you must have strength in at least

two of these three areas.

Getting Qualified for a Getting Qualified for a Getting Qualified for a

MortgageMortgageMortgage

Once you’ve gotten approval for a

mortgage, you also want to make sure that the

amount of the potential loan is something that

you truly can afford. What would happen if

you were to lose your job? Or perhaps had a

reduction in income coming in due to injury or

illness? There will be times while you own a

home when things don’t go according to plan.

One option for those times is additional

insurance, either private mortgage insurance or

a specialized home owner’s insurance. Your

mortgage lender or financial advisor should

have information that you can use. Once you

Determining How Much a Determining How Much a Determining How Much a

Home You Can AffordHome You Can AffordHome You Can Afford

know that you can truly afford the mortgage

that you’ve been approved for, shopping for a

home will become easier indeed.

Determining How Much a Determining How Much a Determining How Much a

Home You Can AffordHome You Can AffordHome You Can Afford

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