rebuilding credit to buy a house

I cannot recommend buying a house with poor credit at this time. You would find it difficult to find a lender that will work with you at all due to the recent housing crisis and subsequent crackdown on subprime loans.

Rent-to-own options are out there, but be careful. You sometimes end up on a Land Contract deal, in which you end up paying more for the 'rent' than you would if you had just rented a home or apartment. With a Land Contract, you often end up having to pay the insurance on the house as well as the monthly house payment - and depending on the length of the Land Contract, you could end up with a significantly higher house payment. I've seen $90,000 houses on 15-year Land Contract deals - I don't know of too many people that could afford that, plus the insurance on the house.

Thanks. We are just desperate. We would like to be able to save money, but the only way to do that is to move closer to my husband's work. Right now we pay 1000 for rent AND we pay 150 to 175 a week for fuel. So we are paying out the hiney for gas and rent. Thanks for the help

I agree with Suebee. Your best bet is to work on rebuilding your credit. Pay off any delinquent debts first. Next get one or two credit cards and pay them on time for at least 12 months strait. Don't use your credit cards unless you can pay off new balances in full each month.I suggest making it a rule to use the cards for things you have to have anyways , like gasoline and groceries. That will help a lot in rebuilding the credit score. I suggest you make a budget and stick to it also.If you pay off your delinquent debts , pay your bills on time and keep a low debt load you will be a home owner in no time. Plus you will save thousands on the interest rate when you do buy the home. :D

Getting new credit cards...wouldn't that increase your debt to income ratio and lower your credit score? Our score has taken such a hard hit so far and I am afraid of doing anything else to make it lower.

Yes, that is why he said to pay off any delinquent debts first. DO NOT get new credit cards until every delinquent account on your credit reports have been taken care of.

I know you want to buy a house but think of it this way. When you buy a home, you have a huge responsibility. What happens if one week, your water heater goes out then the next week the heating system goes. You as a home owner have to pay for that.

Renting is better in my opinion unless you feel financially secure. God forbid you or your husband get sick and then you can't pay the mortgage and property taxes, what do you do? With renting, at least you may be able to work with a landlord or you would be able to move to a cheaper place if you had to.

When owning you are locked in for the next 20-30 years. I don't want to discourage you, I am just here to help you see it from all sides.