need new home and have bad credit....advice?

[tpatt34]

Ok, here's the deal. My wife is expecting our second child and she just got hired as a teacher in the mansfield school district which is nowhere near where we live. We need to sell or rent out our current home and move closer to mansfield where her mother(who will be helping us with babysitting) also lives. I hate to admit it but we both have very low credit scores. My income is good and my wife will soon be contributing with her new job, but our poor scores have stopped us dead in our tracks. Other than the obvious answer which is fix your credit and wait six months to a year does anyone have any advice? sorry so long winded, I just wanted to set the scenario.....

 

[TexasEd]

I don't think the promise of your wife's job will help since the loan officers usually want historical data. So unless she is already getting a paycheck it may not help.

I think the answer really is clean up your credit. There are a lot of simple things you can do.

1. Get a copy of your credit report and close all inactive store credit card accounts. You may be surprised how many are on there.
2. Get your credit cards down to the fewest possible. (Sometimes closing a card you have had a long time can hurt if they rate you as a good customer with no missed payments) In general fewer cards is better but with a good consistent history.
3. Make sure you don't owe any rent on old apartments, doctor bills, etc that can be turned in to a credit agency. If you did but paid them off, make sure they are taken off your credit.

You may want to rent for a while and build up a good history of paying your debts on time so you can get a better rate.

On the other hand the rates for an at risk loan might be better today than the best rates are a year from now.

 

[politically correct horn]

There are no quick fixes to bad credit. If you want to be approved for a mortgage you will have to settle up with any deliquent accounts in collection and any judgements against you. Because your credit is less then stellar you will get financed but at a much higher rate. You will also probably be required to put more money down then someone with good credit.

 

[newport horn]

try an FHA loan

 

[NickDanger]

I have a client that can help. PM me and I'll give you his e-mail.

 

[slevhtown]

I'm a loan officer here in Austin that deals mainly with bad credit, subprime loans. I can help if you would like. There are plenty of programs out there, that you can use. If you want to move now you can get an adjustable rate loan, still at a higher rate, and rebuild your credit during the adjustment period.

Do you have money to put down? If so than it should be no problem depending on how low the score is. Also you can still get no money down loans with a pretty low score, 580.

 

[spidey69]

Get your credit reports and dig through them for bad information and opportunity to 'clean things up' by paying accounts that are in collections, etc.

 

[tpatt34]

Thanks for all the advice guys. Slevhtown I would like a copy of that power point if you wouldnt mind. also, you said you were a loan officer, can you work with people in the dfw area? thats where I am.

 

[slevhtown]

check your pms.

 

[GHOST HORN]

The Link

these guys are non-profit, so they might give you some sound advice.

also, this actually would be great, if a home comes up. The Link

teacher next door program limits a home that is purchased by a teacher must be in the same school district she/he works in and it must be in a revitalization zone.

 

[Touchdown_Texas]

I am also a loan officer/mortgage consultant for anyone in Florida or Tennessee (as well as 14 other states). Any Horns needing help feel free to PM me.

 

[accuratehorn]

Some home sellers will owner finance the deal, and they don't care about your credit rating. But beware, as some of them just want you to fall a month or two behind, kick you out, and repossess the house to sell it again.