Having a Low Credit Score Doesn’t Mean You Can’t Buy a Home
Monday, August 31st, 2009When a lender considers approving your mortgage application, it goes something like this: First, what is your credit score? What is your credit history? How much money do you make? How much debt do you have? How much money do you have for a down payment?
Large down payments can help you overcome negative information on your credit history or a less than desired credit score. For the duration of your mortgage, however, you will pay higher fees and interest.
Bottom line is that you have a low credit score. If you want to purchase your own home, you still need a good credit score.
According to CNN.com. you should have a credit score of at least 758 to qualify for the lowest interest rates available.
Now, more than ever, it is important to have a good credit score to qualify for the best rates. The credit crisis has forced the mortgage companies to raise the minimum credit score, within the last 12-18 months.
Improving Your Credit Score to Get a Mortgage
Your credit score can be a very confusing topic. However, if you focus simply on removing any bad credit information, you can make good progress.
The “experts” claim that you cannot remove derogatory information from your report. They want you to believe that there is no way to raise a low score without waiting for the bad credit to automatically disappear ” often taking 7-10 years.
With a just a little bit of work, you can get a copy of your credit report to see what has been reported. If there are mistakes or errors on it, you can dispute them before the 7 -10 year waiting period.
To dispute these errors you can start with a dispute letter addressed to the credit bureau or credit bureaus. Otherwise, you will have to work directly with the creditor to resolve the mistake.
Often, an expertly worded credit dispute letter will resolve the inconsistency. Although it has been shown that investigation methods are often sloppy and error prone.
Unfortunately, some credit bureaus do not want to spend the time or resources needed to investigate a dispute. Your dispute may be delayed or ignored if it is too labor intensive and therefore, not cost effective.
They want you to just live with the cost of having bad credit, and hope that you will give up on your dispute. This frustration causes some people to hire credit repair services to take over the dispute process.
When Will My Low Credit Score Be Raised
The most voiced concern is the amount of time it will take to improve a low credit score. While everyone has a unique situation, you can expect a fairly drastic improvement in your credit score within 6 to 12 months.
While this may seem like a long time, it is better than waiting 7 to 10 years for the negative information to automatically fall off your credit report. Waiting 6 to 12 months to raise your credit score is worthwhile, especially when you want to own your own home.
Discover how a credit attorney helped a local couple get approved for a home loan despite having bad credit. Lexington law helped erase charge offs and collection items. You can also visit creditforcouples.com to get a free credit repair letter or call 1-866-246-7311 for a free consultation.

