So a friend of mine has finally decided to cut the apron strings and leave the nest. (Actually, her mom cut the strings long ago and moved--he brother bought the house from their mom and she lives with him.) She's decided that she wants to buy a condo at a brand new complex near her. Problem: she has very little to no credit. She is 27 years old. Earns about $27k a year. She has never paid *verifiable* rent as she lives in the house she was born in. Never had a car payment. Never had any kind of installment loan. She does have a Mastercard with an $8k limit from her credit union (not sure if the CU reports to the CRAs). However, she never carries a balance on it. She also has a Target Guest Card that she used one time and then paid it off. Whenever she pays for anything, it's usually debit card or cash. So now she's looking at this condo and she's only talking to ONE bank--the commercial bank that the condo sales rep mentioned . She feels that's her only choice because that bank happens to already have things set up for the condo complex (not all banks in the area will do condo loans). I tried suggesting Lending Tree or maybe Eloan before she makes a costly mistake. Any ideas?
Hmmm, 27k is not much to work with, has she tried her CU? since she has some sort of a relationship with them they may be alittle more leanent in terms, since most CU's are known to work with you on more of a personal level.
I would say to get a 500 secured loan with the CU and that would help build her credit. Is her CC maxed out? From what I understand the mortgage industry is fighting like crazy to help people get a loan. Does the city or county have a 1st time homeowners program? That would be the best bet. Charlie
