Home of my dreams and I have a 540 score. Get Financed

I found the home of my dreams,,,, I have a good stable job, but my credit score is 540. The few lenders and brokers I have contacted, treat me like I have a disease because I don’t have a 800 credit score! I don’t believe that every person with a home has perfect credit ( give me a break! ) There has got to be someone out there who can help me (either up my score, or work with me with the score I have). I am willing to work on my credit score for a few months (I really want to move by Feb-March 2009)….
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Do you know everything that is on your credit report and why your score is a 540.
The good accounts
The bad accounts
Everything 540 is below a 640 is below a 740.
homes lenders do not need an 800 scorebut they do need something stable to hang on to. Someone is going to ask your potential lender why did you lend this person money. First you must also realize that going to regular banks that regualry lend regualr people money is not where you should go.
You are irregular.
Then lets talk about the home of you dreams.
Is it affordable for you.
Do you have a 20 percent downpayent.
Have you been on your current well paying job for more than 5 years.
Have you lived in your curent area for more than five years
Have you lived at your current address for more than 2 years.
Have you considered paying too much interest to buy the home of your dreams
Like going to wells fargo for a large interest loan....... well lets start here
what is on your report
bad good ugly

Do we close all our credit cards but one or two to get our score higher

I have been doing a lot of reading and still can’t come to a conclusion on what to do. My husband and I have a credit score of 788. We have had a lot of debt but have always been on time. Recently we have worked really hard to get all our debt paid off. I am happy to say that we only have about $7000 left—we have paid off $20,000 in the last few months. My question is: Do we close all our credit cards but one or two? They all have a zero balance, but I don’t want to hurt my credit score. We are going to be applying for a home loan soon and want the best score possible. We currently have 4 credit cards and 1 line of credit, all with a zero balance. What is the best solution?
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i wouldnt close anything out as it lookss good to have a low debt to high credit credit limit ratios accross all your credit cards
788? good gosh dont worry be happy, my credit union used 684 for the best rates some mortgage brokers will maybe go as low as 5.5 30 fixed
but one normally has to pay a point even with a 788. i refuse to pay points
they have these huge fees, 3500 range for 30 yr fixed.
i think i am gonna sell my house in a few years
i got a 5.125 7 yr ballon with figuured on a 30 yr fixed
closing cost 1200 that way when i go to sell i haven't added 3500, plus a point or like 5000 more
and of course
they say no money down or refis, so what, they do is add the fees into your loan.
that really bother me
one needs to decide how long they are going to stay in the house and make correct decisions
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So how do you get out of paying points? One of my husbands (and mine) biggest gripes is the huge fees we are charged when we buy a home. Tell me how to get around that! The loan costs on a mortgage are outrageous.
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points add on to fees to buy down the interest rate on conventional fixed rate loans
i refuse to buy down rate or pay points PERIOD feees on conventionals
ad up, lenders fee 795, title fee 350, credit reports 35, deed search and on and on.
ask em what they are
they add up to 3000 dollars at most lenders but vary
my credit union will do 2800 but countrywide who has my loan called me and said 6.5 fixed with 3500 fees
i called credit union they said 6.0 with 2700
i called tyrone back at country wide and said DUDE
you have my loan now, you emailed and mailed and called me. and you can't beat my credit union. call me back when you can get REAL

i kept asking for lower fees because we plan to sell in less than
she said the lowest fees go with ballons
the bad end is ones credit could go south in 7 years and it might be hard to refi
OR one thing i found out when i refied this house. My friend with mortagage connection tried hard to get me to finance more and pay a point...... i refused. when i signed the paper i saw on one line that said brokers money. he got paid 3500 range as a percentage and would get like half the points had i paid them. it pi...... me off
i think 4000 to finance my home is too dang much. and i refuse to use a realtor for 6 percent. what are they smoking those crazy people. They have this high paying lobby thing. we are stuck until we break em up a little. it is happening as we speak. forsalebyowner.com gets listed in the mls.
this really p..... the realtor lobby off and they are still fighting-----------------oh i got lost.)^^%$#@@ sorry----------------the interest rate could go up and i might pay more money for a refi later since i plan to sell, i will have to refi anyways o i am willing to risk it, matter of a fact i have to risk it if i plan to sell and the fees are half for a ballon an the rate is lower 5.125 rate, 1200 - 1300 fees
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if you plan on staying
get a conventional loan an d pay th least amount of fees and rate you can call a credit union if you have one
a mortgage brokerand maybe your current lender ask each one to break down the fees.
tell them the best man wins, plain as day but with a conventional you will have to pay those fees you can find places that have lower fees tho

My score is low 500. Get mortgage for home loan

I am trying to purchase my first home. My credit score is in the low 500. My mortage company told me to try to pay off some of the things on my credit record so that my score will go up. 1. I have 30 days to close. will that be enough time. 2. My realtor told me I could do a straight mortage or bond for deed. She had me to sign a contract and now I hear nothing about the bond for deed I am using all my money trying to pay off old debts. Will this help me to meet the deadline.
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you will have to ask your realtor that question
get recipt of payments
use recipts for proof of payment
you can dispute items as you pay them to speed the credit report update process
say paid off in full, or paid as agreed
I did a straight mortgage to get financed on my first home 6 mos later i got a fixed rate mortgage. Is this what the realtor is talking of?

Trying to buy a house

I am trying to purchase my first home. My credit score is in the low 500. My mortage company told me to try to pay off some of the things on my credit record so that my score will go up. 1. I have 30 days to close. will that be enough time. 2. My realtor told me I could do a straight mortage or bond for deed. She had me to sign a contract and now I hear nothing about the bond for deed I am using all my money trying to pay off old debts. Will this help me to meet the deadline.
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you will have to ask your realtor that question get recipt of payments, Use recipts for proof of payment you can dispute items as you pay them to speed the credit report update processsay paid off in full, or paid as agreed I did a straight mortgage to get financed on my first home6 mos later i got a fixed rate mortgage. Is this what the realtor is talking of?

Want to puchase a home will pay for credit repair

The information on your website is very helpful, but I have to admit it is also a little overwhelming. All the information is great. My wife and I want to purchase a home, but my credit score is being reported at about 550 and we are having difficulty getting a loan. I wish I could raise this soon. Do you offer any paid services to assist me in raising my credit score rather quickly? If so, I’d be interested in doing whatever it takes to make the most positive difference in the quickest time possible.
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i do not offer any paid service
all of my tips are free on on my site
in a nutshell pay off debts, after validation and negotiations for removal of late payements
have good reported, to a major bureau, credit that is at least 12 months old and, less than 80 some say 50 percent owed against your limit

Get a mortgage with bad credit

I need help. I am having to relocate due to a new job and a divorce. After two divorces, my credit score is low…. About 522 or so. I have several credit cards that have been closed and are maxed out with untimely payments. I also have 2 car loans and a credit card with good payment history. The credit card is about 6 to 7 months old and is used for business so it may be maxed out for 30 days and then paid down to zero – about to pay it off again to zero. One car loan I have had since September of 2007 and it has always been paid on time. The other car loan I have had since 2004 and also has all on time payments with only about $4,000 left of a $26,000 loan. All of the other credit cards will be paid off in full over the next 7 days. I have now seen where I should negotiate to have these removed from my credit – what exactly do I need to do in order to accomplish this? How much can I expect my credit score to raise? I make a little over $100,000 a year. I have opted to NOT payoff the car loan that has $4,000 remaining but instead to continue making the remaining monthly payments. After next week, the two car loans are the only debts that I will have. I will also have approximately $15,000 to put down on a home and another $5,000 in the bank. I have found a house that I want and it is going to cost me approximately $145,000 (not including the $15,000 down payment). Got to love Midwest housing prices! Is this achievable and how much would you expect to see my credit score raise and in what time frame? Any suggestions appreciated as I am up against the wire in a town with no rental options…
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many mortgage lenders will insist the old outstanding debts be paid in full befor they can finance youi would ask if you can pay them offhow much they areand how old is the date of last activity you might consider a higher interest rate loan to start with for people with bad credit, but a god job and low debt to income ratio.I want to say it was a baqllon type loan where all i paid was inerest and is easier to quailify forand after6 mos, a year, 2 year try to roll it back into a conventional mortgageusually a local banker will work with local people who have god jobs to get them started I did this with traders national bank in tullahoma tni cannot remember what my score was but not good enough to go straight to conventional mortgageafter only 6 months i was rolled into another conventional loan and i did have to jump through as many hoops as I had been approved and paying on the house for 6 months. the only problem here is most cannot report your payment activity to a major bureau and thus your score is not helped in the least. go talk to a local banker recommended by some home builders.they know how to get people financed and where to go.

FICO score staying around 560 to 599, and using your advice i paid them off all four of them,

I am trying to prepare for an upcoming mortgage rifi...but my score is about 575. I talked to someone who explained part of my problem is the simple fact that I currently have a HELOC and this is holding down my score. I was told having a HELOC automatically places me or anyone who has one into a lower score situation because the HELOC affects my revolving credit ratio, that is it isn't an installment loan. My HELOC is $25K limit, about $24K balance, so highly leveraged. My question is this: I know moving revolving debt around to another credit card doesn't help because it doesn't change the ratio, but if I convert the HELOC to an installment loan, which my creditor says is possible (even though I'm looking at $1,500 origination fee) will that improve my revolving ratio and thus my score?? In other words is it worth doing?? I'm told that installment debt ratio doesn't weigh as much as the revolving ratio.
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that's one heck of a question put that way.
i doubt it and then ????????
i could see how it might help having 50000 dollars in revolving credit with no obligations and the home equity line of credit "HELOC" down to 80% or less. I've been told that you should go for 50 and 10% for super scores. I have always said 80% percent LOWER THAN across the board on ALL loans.
Installment loans always start out at 100% percent balance BALS, to HICR high credit limit ratio.
I guess in "super perfect world" you borrow enough on this installment loan and pay it down to less than less than 80 % BALS balance to HICR high credit ration, FAST no sooner then your first payment afteer you get your installment loan book from installment loan originator.
IE: borrow 40,000 dollars $ and use part of that money to pay the installment loan down to $ 32000 dollars.

if there was any way to move all your money around so that all the balances came down to 80 % percent or less, then I would like to see what happened there, or could happen if you added it all thise numbers up.

If I used the get and installment loan thing i would try to add it up like i said first. pay down the installment loan to .80

you must realize this is a limited answer about your situation.
this is a good general answer.
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I recently go my revolving debt down from a 76% ratio to 21%. I saw my score immediately jump by 63 points at one CB. A little less at the others but still a good jump. Because my scores didn't jump more, and I was seeking answers, this is where I got the advice that my HELOC was the culprit, although technically it isn't a part of the revolving ratio I just mentioned, meaning it doesn't list as revolving on my reports, but as part of my mortgage total. It is probably the case that I just need to pay it down to the 80% you mention, which would cost me about $4K. Also, I have two relatively new student loans that I could get to 80% or so at a cost of about another $5K.

If you agree, the only question then is where to get the money. I'd have to borrow it and I would think increasing my Visas (revolving limits) would increase my 21% ratio, so my question then is would it better to get a signature (installment) loan for $9K, then come up with another $1800 in cash to get that loan down to 80%???
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your talking about borrowing no matter what
so i would borrow eough to add all the numbers up to less than 80 percent bals/hicr and if i could, i would, try to pay the smallest account to nothing NOTHIN or 10 percent or 50% percent if I coud and make the numbers work
when you go to check your credit HERE A GOOD ONE
make sure that all of you reported credit is paid up, on THAT day. no checks in the mail stuff, on company books

sometime i pay my house loan 14 days late online to move my money.
and sometime i pay my gas card a few day late because it is my smallest account
make sure everything is paid in full and the checks for this month are allready on all your creditors books.

THEN BAMM
pull your credit and let me know what happens

Raise my credit score fast. I go turned down

THE REASON WHY I AM WRITING YOU IS FIRST I WANT TO RAISE MY FICO SCORE FAST.
RAISE MY CREDITI HAVE CONTACT THE CREDIT BUREAUS FOR A FREE CREDIT REPORT HOWEVER THEY ARE TELLING ME I RECEIVED A REPORT WITHIN THE LAST 60 DAYS SO I MUST PAY. I APPLIED FOR CREDIT AND WAS TURNED DOWN TWO WEEKS AGO, I THINK I AM ENTITLE TO A FREE CREDIT REPORT. ALSO I AM IN THE MARKET OF BUYING A HOME , BUT I AM BEING TOLD MY CREDIT SCORE IS TO LOW. WHAT SHOULD I DO?

PLEASE E-MAIL ME BACK
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you will get a letter in the mail saying you were turned down
use it and this page
to get a free report
Free credit report I got turned down letter

My credit score has dropped 80 points in last year

Can I talk to someone about raising my credit score. I'm happy to accomodate you for your time. I was just reading your website.
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sure
let it rip
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My credit score has dropped 80 pts in the last year..... 660-580. No late past 30 60 90 days late payments, foreclosures or bankruptcy's. I did start a business though in which I maxed out 5 credit cards (25k total) All payments have been made on time though. We are trying to buy a house and I was shocked at my credit. In reading your suggestions, it sounds like I need to get these cards BALS to less than the 80% of HICR mark. I could pay a couple of the smaller ones off completely and close them.......is closing them a good idea? We do have an existing home loan which is for a rental.....it's in good standing in the 4 years we have had it. We also have two car loans......also in good standing for the 3 years. How quickly and what route do I take to get my score back up over the 620 mark which is what I believe the lenders are looking for? I appreciate your help.
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pay off the small ones
since you can
do not close them.
keep the paid off cards open for higher bottom line or total balance to high credit limit ratios.
pay others down to less than 79% percent.
i have been advised to strive for 50% to 10% percent or less.
then credit score will jump right back up.
If it doesn't let me know

Trying to get my score up to purchase a home

Thanks for the quick response. I do have 3 open lines of credit in good standing. I have not gone over the credit limit nor have I made any late payments. One card increased my limit by $250 and another will be increased by $200 in 3 more billing cycles. Unfortunately, I opened 2 of the accounts less than 6 months ago (nearly 4 months ago). I know that is not long enough..... I have had the other card for over 1 year. They each have less than a $10 balance on them. One has $5. One has $2 and one has $8. I saw on your website that it is a score booster to keep the cards at less than 80% of the balance. I am trying desparately to get the lowest score up. I just don't know how to go about doing that? I had a negative item deleted from my credit report which allowed my Experian score to go from a 628 to a 640 in less than a month. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I am going to try and purchase a home in a couple of years. I don't want a lender to reject my loan or to give me an astronomical interest rate.
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your high credit limits are low too
you have whats called a thin credit file
one needs some pretty big high credit to go for a home loan
if you have 10 to 20 % down you should be ok thought
ask to have your credit limit increased on those cards.
the 630 credit score range will get most people financed if the credit file is thick
your job is good and youve been there a while?
youve got a good downpayment

anything can be overcome with a downpayment.

Trying to buy a house my husband lost job and credit cards

Hello. I have contacted you in the past. I am in credit card debt...not horribly, but in a bad spot ($3000). I filed bankruptcy in 2005 since then I have gotten credit cards and my husband lost his job. I have 4 of them. I was behind and worked out plans with 2 of them. The other two were horrible. Tribute and Aspen and I should have NEVER even gotten them. They have both closed my accounts and tell me that if I pay a ridiculous amount on them they will reopen them. Should I try to reopen them and how does this fix my credit any? I am trying to buy a house and this can't come at a worse time. What can I do to fix this situation and try to buy a house in the near future (next year or so). My credit score was something like a 450, but there were a lot of bills that I had paid or included in my bankruptcy on my credit report still. I am currently disputing some of these and providing proof of payment. I am working with a community program (Mustard Seed in Akron Ohio) that helps people like me buy homes. However, they aren't the best at getting back with me. Do you have any ideas of programs that can help me buy a house? Help with a down payment? Another question, with the interest rates being so low, should I still try to buy a house or should I scrap the idea? I am renting a house for $905 a month. I am POSITIVE I would pay less if I bought a house. In Ohio $905 is a lot of money for a 3 bedroom house in Cuyahoga Falls. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. I am simply losing my mind and a lot of sleep.
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if you can
pay and re open the credit cards
after one year you ask them to only report the past 24 months like most revolving debt.
the old bad goes away and the new good raises your score even more.

whenever i hear someone talk about help with a downpayment and borrowing money for something, I am remided of an old finance here pay here philosophy.
No personal investment means it is too easy to walk away from.
So you really have to have some investment or most will not finance you. Maybe sweat equity or rent to own.

maybe you can't buy a house. Most of this is stable income and budget stuff. Until anyone works that out, the credit will be bad.

I am trying to buy a house with a 426 FICO score

I have a question for you and hope that you can help me. I am trying to buy a house. My credit is awful. My FICO score is 426. I am trying to get a letter of pre-approval or something from my lender. Because of my credit score the sellers are allowing me 6 months to get my score cleaned up enough to put the house in a loan with my name. They are letting me do a lease purchase for the 6 months. I already have things in dispute with the credit bureau and I am waiting on them to contact me back. Is there anywhere possible that I can try to obtain a letter of pre-approval or something?
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pre approval?
for a 426?
no I haven't. Letter?
you need owner financing.
3 open rated lines of credit 12 months MR
and obviously you have nothing but a slew of bad credit. some of that need to go away

Citibank card shows 30 60 90 days late in 04. need 700 credit score

Hello, Love you blog. Today's credit system can make anyone feel helpless and I appreciate the information you provide. I need some advice: I had and Associates Citibank card which I opened in Oct of 1998. I had a 30 days late in April '03, 60 and 90 days late in Dec 03/Jan 04. I paid the account in full, but the credit card was closed by the grantor. On my freecreditreport.com report it shows the late dates and states that the creditor closed the account, but shows little green OKAY boxes until 2005. (I honestly, don't know when the creditor closed the account - I just quit using the card) My husband and I are trying to get a house this year and my score is between 668-685 depending on agency. I do not have any other late payments and my credit history since then has been spot on. (Threeaccounts open, good balance to credit line ratio)Is there anything that I can do to get my score up? (Would love to break the 700 mark) Can I get the past due accounts removed from my record? Thanks for your help!
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sometimes they will let you open a past account
see what i did here with bp oil
capital one would be the best route
you need 3 open for at least 12 months with no new lates
and all past dues paid. score should jump dramatically
if you cannot pay past dues maybe you will get lucky and
2 years will pass with no trouble and then 7 years with no trouble.
What I have found though is many accounts get sold or collected on within the 7 years period
and bam
there we go again on the 24 months and the 7 years again from date of last activity.
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