Can You Get a Mortgage with Bad Credit?

Applying for a mortgage loan can become more difficult when your credit score becomes a hindrance. Banks and lending companies generally look for customers with good or excellent credit to minimize the risks. If you have bad credit, a mortgage lender may consider you as a "high risk" customer, and thus, decline your home loan application.

However, it is still possible to acquire home loan financing despite having bad credit. In this post, let's talk about some points you can consider if you plan to obtain a mortgage loan.

FHA and VA Loans

A consumer can get an insured loan from the FHA (Federal Housing Administration) or the VA (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs). FHA insured loans are offered to consumers who belong to the low income bracket that they cannot afford to pay the standard down payment required by lenders. VA insured loans are available for military veterans. If you are eligible to apply for FHA or VA loan, then you can get home financing even if you have a low FICO rating. In fact, some lenders accept credit scores as low as 580. The minimum qualifying score varies from one lending company to the next.

Piggyback on Someone Else's Good Credit

If you need to apply for a mortgage loan but with bad credit, you might be able to improve your chances by getting a co-signer. Needless to say, you need to find a co-signer with excellent credit rating. More importantly, you need to find someone who is willing to co-sign your home loan on your behalf.

Co-signing a loan is a serious responsibility. Keep in mind that in the event of default, it is the co-signer who is held responsible for the repayment of the debts. With this in mind, finding a co-signer who will back-up your mortgage loan will not be easy. If you are a couple and one of you has excellent credit, then the one with a more favourable rating can apply for mortgage.

Raise Your Credit Score

Have you checked your credit report? It may be possible that the reason for your very low score is that there errors or unauthorized charges in your report. Sometimes, another person's credit history may have been mixed-up with your file. Therefore, before applying for mortgage, you should order a copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus.

Carefully scan your report for errors or misinformation. Should you find any, sent a letter right away to the bureau that issued your report so that an investigation can be started right away. If proven correct, instantly improve your score by a number of points and the bureau will send you an updated copy of your report for free.

Wait Awhile

Is it possible for you to wait out for another six months to a year before applying for mortgage? If yes, then you are encouraged to wait awhile so you can work on improving your credit score. This way, you better mortgage loan options will be available for you. Not only can you expect easy approval but good rates and reasonable repayment terms as well.