There are many options if a consumer wants to buy a home, but what about someone with Bad Credit. Can they get a mortgage in today’s economy? There are several options that a consumer might look into but if you have bad credit and you are trying to buy a home, then you should contact a Mortgage Broker. 

Mortgage Brokers do not actually loan the money out themselves, but they actually act as a middleman between the buyer and the mortgage company. They will handle the financing for the borrower and the lender. Generally, they earn their fee as a percentage from the mortgage financing originator or from the borrower. But sometimes they actually earn the money from both the borrower and the mortgage company. 

The Mortgage Brokers are generally aware of the latest rates and can work in the favor of the buyer to get the best possible rate along with the best possible financing options. The fees that you may have to pay in order to utilize the service of a Mortgage Broker are often worth their weight in gold when it comes to experience and the benefit you could receive. 

They will be able to give you the best options, rates, and since they basically are working for you, they can be objective and provide you with Expert Advice regarding a home mortgage. This is because they specialize in home mortgages. Banks and Credit Unions do not have this advantage. Additionally, Mortgage Brokers might have better connections for someone with a credit problem. They may know which lenders are willing to work with you regarding a home loan.

It is best to look into this possibility if you are wanting to buy a home. Credit issues aside, Mortgage Brokers can provide many benefits that banks and credit unions simply cannot.

Is your debt dragging you down? Are you unable to get out from under your huge debt? What can you do to get your debt under control start managing your finances so you can live without your debt. 

Being debt free is a dream for most people because they can’t imagine themselves without debt. But being financially stable does not always mean debt free. You can have debt but you must be in control of your spending and your finances. This means that you must unlearn some bad habits. Learning to control your finances and budget your money may mean leaving your comfort zone but it will really help you in the long run. 

First, sit down and take a good hard look at your finances. List every source of income and list every single debt including the $20 you borrowed from your friend last week. By listing everything, you now have a real starting point. Look at your savings and any retirement if you have started a 401k program. These also help to determine your financial stability. 

Now you should make three lists, One for your assets showing all of your income including any savings or stocks, etc… Next should be your debts that you currently owe or are making payments on. Finally, the last list should show your non-liquid assets, things like the equity in your home, 401k retirement and value on any cars that you currently own. 

If you have managed your finances well, then you should see a pretty good balance on these things, but if you see that your income is well below the other items, then you might be having issues such as living from check to check or consistently seeing that your using credit cards where you should be using cash, then you could be on the verge of trouble. 

Here are some suggestions:

Review your budget for waste. Start by removing any waste that your budget implies. This will help you start down a solid financial path. 

Reduce your credit card debt. Start by finding your credit card with the highest interest rate. Start by double or tripling the amount paid on this debt until it is well below 30% of your available credit. When each of your credit cards are either paid off or being used less than 30% of the total available credit, you should then again review your debt. 

Sell unused or unneeded things such as cars, boats and RV’s. This can help to put money into your system and pay off a large portion of unneeded debt. 

Garage Sales – Having a garage sell to reduce your junk often can have a benefit. Why not use the money raised in a garage sale to pay off a credit card? 

Money raising parties – Some people have a little party once a month, charge a small entrance fee and serve very cost effective drinks or food. Then they take the money raised and use it for several different purposes. Such as a credit card bill, new TV set, etc… so you don’t have to “finance” the purchase or some other such thing.

But getting control of your finances is the most important matter, so figure out which item is hurting your debt and zap it first. Good credit will only come after you have removed any problems and you have got your debts under control. Otherwise Bad Credit will be next and this will only hurt your credit score in the long run.

Everyone today is looking for the quick boost to their credit score but is there really such a thing. The fastest and best way to improve your credit score is to make sure that your credit score accurately shows your credit history. Since most credit history reports have errors then the best thing for you to do is to make your report accurate. 

If you are not monitoring your credit, or if you are not reviewing your credit report, then you should. It is important that your credit score be accurate. I have seen people who have inaccurate information on their credit report work to correct that information. I have also seen those people watch their credit scores go up simply because they corrected the inaccurate information. Those scores have increased as much as 100-150 points simply because they corrected the inaccurate information. Can your credit score go up as much as 100-150 points? Sure, but everyone has different information so the increase may or may not be that much for you. 

It is extremely important today to review your credit report and find any incorrect information. Then you must act on that information. Most people don’t know what to do but the government has enacted laws that will protect you and your credit. The law is the Fair Credit Reporting Act or otherwise known as the FCRA. The FCRA provides you protection to the information being reported on your credit report. You are allowed to dispute anything on your credit report that is inaccurate, mis-leading, and incorrect or simply not yours. These disputes must be investigated (after some prompting) and corrected. If they are not done in a timely manner then they must be removed from your credit report. 

Here is the problem. The credit bureaus and the companies that are reporting the information don’t want to make any changes. The companies that report the information pay the credit bureaus to report the information. Consumers are left to fight for themselves against these bureaus and the companies that report to them. Disputing the information is the only way that you have to try and correct the information. You have the right to dispute, they have the right to report the “accurate” information. 

But you must dispute inaccurate information. You must try and work with the companies reporting the inaccurate information so that it is reported accurately. This will benefit your credit history and of course, your credit score. 

You can dispute that information on your own, but it is a very time consuming and tedious undertaking. If you are very meticulous and diligent you will be successful. But if you don’t have the time or patience to take on this grinding work, then hiring a professional may be an option to you. There are a lot of scam artists out there, but there are a few honest, legitimate companies that can help you. They take the time to review your credit report. Then they get with you and go over what you want disputed, answer any questions that you may have and then dispute those inaccuracies for you. 

You have the right to dispute anything that is inaccurate, misleading or simply not yours. Even if part of the information is accurate but some of it is not, then you should dispute it. Sometimes, when you dispute information the company or government does not respond to the dispute and therefore the listing is deleted from your credit report. This really does happen and serious things like judgments or bankruptcies have been deleted from your credit history report. But you should only dispute information that is inaccurate. Creditors and Credit Bureaus have the right to report information that is accurate for up to seven years (Ten years on a bankruptcy).  

So Amp Up your credit report today and get it as accurate as possible.