“If you have bad credit, can you still get a mortgage?”
Generally speaking – no.
Or maybe I should say “not until you fix your credit”.
Fix your credit?
How does that work?
The truth is, I don’t really know (how is that for honesty?). But I can say that we work with a small handful of credit repair companies who help people remove inaccurate information from their credit reports and have seen people have success with these companies.
The end result?
I see someone who has a poor enough credit score (below 580) that they can’t qualify for a mortgage loan going into one of these credit repair programs and someone who has a high enough credit score to qualify for a mortgage “graduating” from their programs.
Common Questions About Credit Repair Companies
Do credit repair programs cost money? Yes.
How much do credit repair programs cost? Each one is slightly different, but it seems to be less than $100/month in general.
Will they actually “fix” my credit? Yes – or at least that is what I have seen happen with clients that I have seen enroll in their programs.
How exactly do they “fix” my credit? I don’t know – but they will be happy to explain their process, I am sure.
Is credit repair a “scam”? Not the credit repair companies that I am familiar with – their clients enroll, pay a fee and generally graduate the program with higher (usually high enough to qualify for a mortgage) credit scores. That would seem to disqualify them as a “scam”.
Do you currently have bad credit? Now is the time to invest the time and money to fix your credit so that you can qualify for a mortgage while interest rates are low — and interest rates won’t stay low forever!
Oh, and Mr. Obvious just stuck his head in my office and asked me to remind everyone that the first step toward fixing your credit is to to keep paying your bills on time.