- Find a Real Estate Professional
- Realtors®
- Mortgage Lenders
- Home Improvement Pros
- Other Real Estate Services
- Review an Agent, Lender or Pro
- Marketing on Zillow
- Real Estate Agent Advertising
- Join the Professional Directory
- Popular
- Real Estate Market Reports
- More
Answers (29)
- Dan, "the_country_hick"
- Contributions:4692
A 1 year old question.
Hopefully by now you have improved your credit score.
Hopefully by now you have improved your credit score.
- David & Maria-Nella Landman, "PrimeOne Realty"
- Contributions:101
I am not from your area but I have experience in this field, There are some credit repair companies that will help you upgrade your credit score. Nowadays Lenders will not lend you if your score is less than 640, even if you have some good credit reference as your landlord but it will not be sufficient by itself, you need some more issues. Credit Score is very important, having a steady job for at least a year, no collections. Most Mortgage brokers can refer you to a credit repair company
- Jennifer Johnson, "JenniferSELLS.com"
- Contributions:40
Speak with a lender first. Any experienced agent can provide referrals. As a Realtor, I can show you homes... But if you don't qualify for them, everyone is left disappointed. A good lender will pull your credit and advise you on what needs to be done with your credit, and what kind of downpayment you will need to prepare for so that when you DO go out looking, you are prepared to make an offer and move forward with the purchase of your new home! There are plenty of agents eager to show homes... My 2 cents is to prepare yourself first, then look when you have a price point.
And... sales pitch forthcoming... I'm happy to help. :) Best of luck!
- Nathan Colmer, "NathanColmer"
- Contributions:257
You should be able to find an agent to work with. In the meantime, start taking the steps needed to repair your credit because when you do find an agent and then a house, you will pay more for it with bad credit.
- Rick DeVoss
- Contributions:16
Although I am not in NC, I will give you a comprehensive answer that may help other people in other areas too.
Some of the previous replies to this inquiry have not been straight forward or very helpful. My career has been devoted to helping first-time homebuyers get into the house fo their dreams.
OK. You say you want to buy a house and your credit score is not too good.
The first thing to do is pull a copy of your own credit report and get the score so we know what we're talking about. You are entitled to a free report from each agency once a year. You can get your credit report by going to "annualcreditreport.com". You should print an extra copy for your Realtor or whomever is giving you financial advice.
In today's market, you will need a FICO score of at least 640 to 680 in order to get approved for a loan through the normal channels. Work on bringing the score up. --PAY ALL BILLS ON TIME. (At least the ones that are reported to the credit bureaus.) Reduce the balance on your credit cards below 35% of the available credit. Do NOT close any accounts. Borrow a small amount of money from any source that will report your payments to the credit bureaus, and then pay it ON TIME every month. You need at least three different types of credit.
For a fast jump into a home, you might try to find a seller in your area who will carry "owner financing". Most of them want a large down payment, but it IS a way to become a homeowner. And be sure you get a Realtor to help you write the offer and negotiate the transaction. You should require the seller to report your monthly payment history to the credit bureau so you will bring your FICO score up while making payments on the house.
If that is not feasable for you, then get with a loan officer who is experienced and work on satisfying the requirements of an underwriter to get yourself prequalified for a loan with a small down payment. (Your Realtor can tell you who to call.) If you give the loan officer a copy of your credit report, he/she can review it without pulling your report again. This helps to prevent having another "inquiry" on your record, because it tends to lower your score for 6 months if you don't take out an immediate loan.
Once you have your financing lined up, then you can have your Realtor show you houses that are in your price range. Too many people get the cart before the horse.
Some Real Estate Agents will not waste their time with people who are not prequalified. Would you want to go to work for free and spend time with someone who you knew could not buy the product you were trying to sell?
You should get a letter from your landlord that testifies to your good payment history. You may also be able to get letters from other companies that you make payments to. Ask them to sign the letter that you have prepared for them. Mortgage underwriters will take all these factors into account, but you still will need a decent FICO score.
Having a good credit score is a matter of lifestyle. Good financial habits are generally not taught in our school system. It is tough to learn them late in life.
Good luck!
Rick
Some of the previous replies to this inquiry have not been straight forward or very helpful. My career has been devoted to helping first-time homebuyers get into the house fo their dreams.
OK. You say you want to buy a house and your credit score is not too good.
The first thing to do is pull a copy of your own credit report and get the score so we know what we're talking about. You are entitled to a free report from each agency once a year. You can get your credit report by going to "annualcreditreport.com". You should print an extra copy for your Realtor or whomever is giving you financial advice.
In today's market, you will need a FICO score of at least 640 to 680 in order to get approved for a loan through the normal channels. Work on bringing the score up. --PAY ALL BILLS ON TIME. (At least the ones that are reported to the credit bureaus.) Reduce the balance on your credit cards below 35% of the available credit. Do NOT close any accounts. Borrow a small amount of money from any source that will report your payments to the credit bureaus, and then pay it ON TIME every month. You need at least three different types of credit.
For a fast jump into a home, you might try to find a seller in your area who will carry "owner financing". Most of them want a large down payment, but it IS a way to become a homeowner. And be sure you get a Realtor to help you write the offer and negotiate the transaction. You should require the seller to report your monthly payment history to the credit bureau so you will bring your FICO score up while making payments on the house.
If that is not feasable for you, then get with a loan officer who is experienced and work on satisfying the requirements of an underwriter to get yourself prequalified for a loan with a small down payment. (Your Realtor can tell you who to call.) If you give the loan officer a copy of your credit report, he/she can review it without pulling your report again. This helps to prevent having another "inquiry" on your record, because it tends to lower your score for 6 months if you don't take out an immediate loan.
Once you have your financing lined up, then you can have your Realtor show you houses that are in your price range. Too many people get the cart before the horse.
Some Real Estate Agents will not waste their time with people who are not prequalified. Would you want to go to work for free and spend time with someone who you knew could not buy the product you were trying to sell?
You should get a letter from your landlord that testifies to your good payment history. You may also be able to get letters from other companies that you make payments to. Ask them to sign the letter that you have prepared for them. Mortgage underwriters will take all these factors into account, but you still will need a decent FICO score.
Having a good credit score is a matter of lifestyle. Good financial habits are generally not taught in our school system. It is tough to learn them late in life.
Good luck!
Rick
- Metro Indy Expert.
- Contributions:197
Find an experienced lender first. Call a few agents and ask for referrals of experienced lenders.
- Sharon Lewis, "Sharon Lewis"
- Contributions:3915
I would love to work with you. I have several clients in the same 'boat' They are, like yourself, really tired of renting. They want to have the great satisfaction of owning.
We are working with them to get them ready to buy a home. It is one of the most satisfying things about this job for me.....so to answer your question, yes, you live in the greatest country in the world and anything is possible!
We are working with them to get them ready to buy a home. It is one of the most satisfying things about this job for me.....so to answer your question, yes, you live in the greatest country in the world and anything is possible!
- jal74
- Contributions:1077
I'm just curious.
If you needed to acquire a new used vehicle, would you walk into the dealer showroom and ask the used car salesman whether they would work with you because you had a low credit score?
Why are you thinking that a realtor is any different than a used car salesman?
And as fo
If you needed to acquire a new used vehicle, would you walk into the dealer showroom and ask the used car salesman whether they would work with you because you had a low credit score?
Why are you thinking that a realtor is any different than a used car salesman?
And as fo
- Meg Russell, "GreenBrokerMeg"
- Contributions:16
We would love to work with you, but times are different from what they were in 2006. You might want to consider working first with a loan officer who can tell you what you might need to do in order to raise the score high enough to qualify for a loan. You will need a pre-approval letter and some indication of credit-worthiness to make an offer in any case. Making an offer means the seller taking the home off the market, so the buyer must indicate ability to get a loan. Good luck!
- JoEllen Ufner - ABR,GRI,SFR, "jufner"
- Contributions:397
Real Estate agents will normally work with anyone so long as they are prequalified...so I would suggest getting prequalified first. Best of Luck!
The very first thing you should do is to get your credit report and see what is on there. The next thing to do is to clean up your credit by getting items off of your credit report that should not be there. The next is the hardest - paying off those items, such as collections that are yours. If you can't decipher your credit score, I would get in touch with a non-profit credit counselling service.
Good Luck!
Good Luck!
- Michelle Hallman, "mhallmanhomes"
- Contributions:5
I am happy to help any buyer. We do start with a mortgage preapproval. Some lender will work with you to help you improve your score. Call a lender and see what you can do. I hope thisis helpful.
Thanks,
Michelle
Thanks,
Michelle
- Shawn Rogers, "Mister Rogers Homes"
- Contributions:899
CKMB,
Good Evening.
The fast answer is: "YES". It's not that we do not want to work with you, we do. The fact is we (REALTORS) need to make sure our clients are qualifed before we put in offers, or actually start looking for homes.
I would contact you or a lender, see what you can qualify for and then contact an agent. If you can't qualify or you can't qualify for enough, ask that lender what can be done to get you there. It is not always income.
I hope that helps.
Have a BEAUTIFUL night.
-Shawn
Good Evening.
The fast answer is: "YES". It's not that we do not want to work with you, we do. The fact is we (REALTORS) need to make sure our clients are qualifed before we put in offers, or actually start looking for homes.
I would contact you or a lender, see what you can qualify for and then contact an agent. If you can't qualify or you can't qualify for enough, ask that lender what can be done to get you there. It is not always income.
I hope that helps.
Have a BEAUTIFUL night.
-Shawn
- David Schulz, "agent4naples"
- Contributions:7
You should talk to a professional... or a team of professionals that can give you advice. Before considering options to buy a home... do your homework and plan for any purchase you want to make- no matter how great the deals are you need to call me!
Our office here in beautiful and sunny Naples Florida is affiliated with professionals that can look at cold hard facts to evaluate a buyer from credit to closing! We can help you to choose professionals in the legal, mortgage and title business to protect your interests, and make your plans a success... You choose who you want to work with, but you definitely need to start working now toward getting in a position to achieve your goal.
Sincerely,
David Schulz
Premiere Plus Realty
D.S. Enterprises
[contact info removed by moderator]
- michele portnof, "mportnof"
- Contributions:12
I always advise clients to get pre approval before they begin looking. It's up to the lender to determine if you can get a mortgage. You may need to put a larger down payment or use the points option. Good luck. If you are looking in NYC, please contact me!
- Rick DeVoss
- Contributions:16
Real Estate Agents show houses to buyers, but Loan Officers evaluate loan applications and make loans.
Your credit score will be assessed by the lender to see if you are an acceptable risk. Although their judgement may seem arbitrary, that is how the system works. The minimum acceptable score will depend on the type of loan you are getting and who is offering it.
When a client calls me and discloses a low credit score, then I help him work on doing the right things to bring the FICO score up. The first step may be to go out and find a house to rent, as it may take 6 to 12 months to get your score up.
Most Agents will not spend any time with someone who has less than a good FICO score, but if you were to come to Texas looking for a house, I would help you!
I am a Certified Instructor in Credit Repair and Debt Reduction.
Normally, there is no fee for consulting about your credit report...as long as you plan to buy a house from me.
- Kimberly Whaley, "kimberly.whaley"
- Contributions:69
An agent may help guide you in the right direction, but what you need is a lender that is willing to finance you, there are many out there that will loan to lower scores, you just need to shop around. You might also try working with a credit repair agency. A Real Estate agent cant really help you with the loan procees, but they may be able to help you find a loan officer that can get you qualified.
Good luck!
Good luck!
- MikysWifey
- Contributions:1
My husband and I are very young. Have absolutly no credit at all. We buy everything in Cash. and we got accepted for loans all over the place (Not that we took everyone, we shopped around) You'd be surprised at what you can get. Have fun!
- Juanita Crable, "jcrable"
- Contributions:2
I would be glad to help you! You can check with your local Bank or Credit Union to see if they offer a "Credit Builder" or "Secured Certificate". These loans can help you if you have no credit or have existing credit and want to improve your credit score. A Credit Builder is a loan where the money borrowed is secured in your Savings account for the term of the loan and dividends are paid on the money while you are establishing credit. Once successfully paid in full the money becomes available in your account. Maintaining scheduled payments for a minimum of six months will allow the payment history to be reflected on your credit report. A Secured Certificate is the same as the Credit Builder however, the Secured Certificate is a loan based on your own funds so instead of the bank giving you the amount for the loan you put your money. The loan can range in amounts depending on your preference and putting your own funds will allow for a lower interest rate. Hope this helps!
- Nathan Wolf, "natewolf"
- Contributions:1825
There are local housing foundations which offer homeownership classes and you will then get a certificate after passing their program which will make you eligible for local grants. They help people restore their credit for FREE. And there are home ownership programs in North Carolina including NO MONEY DOWN programs.
- Randy Mabry, "Randy Mabry"
- Contributions:190
As a professional real estate broker, I can point people to good credit. We work with a non-profit organization that does credit counseling and works with them untill they are qualified for a loan. Beware of quick fixes- it did not happen overnight and can take up to a year to get corrected. Their results are overwhelming. They have helped over 400 families get affordable mortgages and only had 4 go into foreclosure.
- Philippe Slezak, "pslezak25292525"
- Contributions:392
We can help you and would need to know when your credit was ran and what the score was. We can also help you in getting your credit back on track as you don't want to pay a higher rate if it is only going to take you a few months to get it repaired.
We have had tremendous results with our lender in getting clients credit score above 600 and where able to purchase a home in no time at all.
We have had tremendous results with our lender in getting clients credit score above 600 and where able to purchase a home in no time at all.
- Jennifer Marks, "RelocateWithJen"
- Contributions:101
I would be happy to help someone who is getting started. Finding the right loan is the key. Have you tried FHA or down payment assistance program? Let me know if I can help
- Mack McCoy
- Contributions:1111
I vote for waiting until you've improved your credit score, especially if your poor credit is related to not paying your bills on time.
Sometimes, that credit score is trying to tell us something.
Sometimes, that credit score is trying to tell us something.
- Matthew Jorgensen, "Matt PIP"
- Contributions:40
I second the lease option process, also, if you have a reasonable down payment, you may want to look in to a possible owner financed property as an actual "closing" could mean that you are able to recieve the tax credit if you close before the deadline...
- wetdawgs
- Contributions:26790
I agree with others, it isn't an agent who can get you a loan so that isn't the place to start. Most agents worth their salt will not even take time to show you houses until you have a preapproval letter for close to the $$ amount of the houses you wish to see. You either need to evaluate why your credit score is low and work on bringing it up. There will be a reason or several reasons!
- Hamp Yonce, "Zilluminati"
- Contributions:3463
Don't seek credit counseling. Seek a Loan Officer who can analyze your situation, and determine if credit counseling would be a benefit, or detriment, to your aspirations.
What is "poor" about your credit history? Car repos, slow payments on credit cards? Have you pulled your report(s)? You can do so on your own. then you could converse about it with qualified experts.
What is "poor" about your credit history? Car repos, slow payments on credit cards? Have you pulled your report(s)? You can do so on your own. then you could converse about it with qualified experts.
- Linda Lohman, "Linda Lohman"
- Contributions:4
As a real estate agent I welcome the opportunity to work with most willing buyers. However, it is not up to real estate agents if buyers are eligible for a home loan. Unfortunately, a loan approval is the first step to buying a home. The best thing to do is start credit counseling to get your credit up.
Good Luck1
Good Luck1
- Linda Strasberg, "L Strasberg"
- Contributions:2315
you may wish to consider a lease with option to purchase while you begin to straighten out your credit by seeking credit counseling
Are there any real estate agents willing to work with someone who has a low credit score?
Stating a discriminatory preference in an advertisement for housing is illegal. If you think this content is discriminatory or otherwise inappropriate and feel it should be removed from Zillow, please let us know by completing the information above.
We will review this content. Thanks for helping make the site more useful to everyone. To learn more, read Zillow's Good Neighbor Policy.