The Effects of a Low Credit Score on Purchasing a Home

By Casey Deanwater

Purchasing a Home vs. a Low Credit Score

When your credit report is being reviewed in connection with a mortgage application, the lender will most likely have these questions on his or her mind: Is their credit score acceptable? Is their credit history good? How much income do they have? How much of a down payment will they be providing?

The negative effects of a less than stellar credit history may be minimized by a large down payment; however, you will still likely pay more in fees and end up with a high mortgage interest rate. The fact is that in the past 12-18 months the minimum score necessary to buy a home has increased.

There is no way around having a low credit score. Even with a large down payment you will still need a good credit score to make home ownership a reality. Your goal should be a 758 average credit score to qualify for the lowest interest rates, according to CNN.com.

Find Out How to Raise Your Credit Score and Improve Your Chances of Purchasing a Home

With minimal effort you can obtain your report and see exactly what is there. Often there will be mistakes or errors that you can dispute.

Your first step should be a dispute letter to the credit bureaus involved. Contacting the creditor directly to resolve the negative entry would be another way to start.

Sometimes a cleverly crafted dispute letter will result in the removal of the negative entry. However, it is often the case that investigative procedures are careless and result in errors.

This is because credit bureaus must spend potential profits on time and resources to investigate any dispute. The unfortunate truth is that some credit bureaus have found it cost effective to delay or ignore your dispute. Their hope is that you will give up on your dispute.

How Long Will it Take to Raise My Credit Score

Many people want to know how long it will be before they can see a difference in their credit score. In most cases, a fair estimate would be 6-12 months.

Although this may seem like an extremely long time, it is exceedingly shorter than waiting 7-10 years for the negative information to be erased. If you plan to purchase a home, it is imperative that you wait the 6-12 months to clear your credit report of any negative information. - 31377

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