Is it possible, in your opinion, to get a mortgage with scores of about 540 and 575, one being mine, the other my husbands...good income-around 50k a year. The reason scores are bad are 2 credit cards over the limit. Will be taking care of that in the next couple months. Will that help me with the scores fairly quickly, or does it take a long time? His father gave us a small piece of land last year, thought about doing something with it...either modular or building on it. Figure we will get laughed at though for even trying to get a mortgage.
RE: Been reading the boards Interesting question. When I look back at my credit reports, I don't see how they would determine that you had been over your limit in the past. Would they compare high balance to credit limit? Being over limit is just the worst form of high utilization ratio, namely a ratio of over 100%. Utilization ratio is something that can hurt you badly but also be rapidly improved. That's good news for you. However, I would guess that 99% won't be good enough. More like 70%, if you can manage that. Everyone reports that mortgage lenders are far more tolerant of blemished credit than credit card lenders are. After all, they have collateral to back the loan. They also verify income, which few credit card lenders do. So if your income is high enough and easily verifiable, you have a big advantage. Another thing. I'm sure you could obtain a mortgage right now, but the price might be higher than you'd like. I can't believe the 12% and 14% mortgages I read about. Since you can improve your scores rather quickly by paying down your credit cards, it would be worth waiting a while for a lower rate. I hope my informed guesses help a bit.
Thank you Yes, your informed guesses give me hope. I will pay down those balances to less than 50% and see what happens to our scores. Thanks again.
RE: Thank you You would probably eqasily qualify for a FHA loan. Pay on it a ouple years and then convert it into a conventional loan. I know that LandMark Mortgage handles these score types. That is how we got our current loan. Take advantage of their expertise. You can find them on the web. If all your trouble is related to the high balances, then go for it. Peace, BSN
