trying to buy a house

There are creditors out there that, despite a low credit score, will loan you money if you are upfront with them and they believe that you will repay. You need to shop around a bit and find out what is available. If there is a credit union associated with your employer or industry, you might start there. They are sometimes more liberal that the banks and have better rates that the corner finance stores. Nonetheless, articles in the newspapers every day advise that credit is getting harder to get all the time. If you cannot get a consolidation loan, your best bet is to put together a repayment plan that you can live with. Over a relatively short period of time, you may find that your credit score goes up quite a bit if you make more that the minimum payments and always pay on time. Best of luck to you!