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If you’re contemplating buying a home, you’re probably thinking about how you’re going to qualify for a home loan. We all know the things we need to do to clean up our credit scores – pay our bills on time, don’t borrow more than we can afford, etc. The only problem is that it takes time to improve your credit score with this plan. Right now home prices are low and more importantly, interest rates are extremely low. But what if there are a few blemishes on your credit report and you don’t have much time to fix them? What can you do to raise your credit score right away in order to take advantage of the current interest rate and home price situation?
Obviously you should start right now (if not yesterday) to do the things that will improve your credit in the long term. Don’t buy anything that you cannot easily afford and make sure you don’t slip up and pay any bills late. But if you’re looking to buy a home in the next few months, there are some short term fixes that can help you get approved for the loan.
Obtain a current copy of your credit report and take care of any erroneous information. You probably see ads all the time for credit watch services that will get your credit report for you, but it’s easy and free to do it yourself. Just go to each of the three major credit reporting agencies, Experian, Equifax and Transunion, and request a copy of your credit report. Look it over and get any errors corrected. It’s important to do this with all three, because you never know which service a lender is going to use. Right now while lending requirements are so tight, a lot of lenders are getting reports from all three before approving a loan.
Sometimes there will be problems on your credit report that are accurate because you really did default on a loan or make some late payments. If this is the case, a letter of explanation is in order. In your letter, explain what happened and what you did to fix it. Lenders are more likely to approve a loan if they believe that these problems won’t be repeated. If you were temporarily unemployed, had a serious illness or went through a divorce, let them know. Those are temporary problems. If you took steps to correct the problem as best you could, let them know that too.
Impose a temporary moratorium on borrowing. Don’t buy that car or charge things to your credit card. Home loans are more difficult to get than most other loans. After you’ve closed escrow on your new house you can go out and get that car, stereo system or whatever you want. Just stay within your means. Your monthly debt obligations are part of the calculation that limits the amount of the home loan. They will not approve you for a payment which makes your total home costs and debt payments more than about 45% of your income. Any loans you get now could reduce the amount of the payment they’ll approve you for.
Pay down debt – strategically. Lenders typically don’t count loans that have less than 10 months left. Any loans that can be brought down enough to have less than 10 months of payments are prime candidates. At the very top of your list should be any credit card balances, particularly if your credit limit is near.
The typical home buyer want to get the best house he can possibly afford. These steps will maximize the monthly payment you can get approved for, so you’ll be able to buy a home that you can live in for a number of years. Begin the process as soon as you’re able to. By the time you find your dream home and talk to a mortgage broker, your credit score will already be looking better.
While you’re getting everything in order to qualify for a mortgage loan, you can go house shopping! Check out these Carlsbad new homes, California.
