GETTING A MORTGAGE EVEN IF YOU HAVE NO CREDIT?

Many people use a "cash-only" policy, and therefore end up having no way to prove their creditworthiness. If you have no credit, there are other ways to prove your creditworthiness. In fact, you probably have more credit than you think.

You can use the following references to prove you have credit:

Rent: This one of the strongest references when buying a home.

Utilities: You can use the statements as evidence, and many utility companies will issue credit letters.

Short-Term Notes: Many of the 30-, 60-, or 90-day personal note carriers will issue a credit reference.

Rental agencies: The furniture and appliance rental companies will also issue credit letters.

Car references: Many car lots have their own loan papers, and although they do not report to credit bureaus, they will probably be happy to help you.
A MORTGAGE IS POSSIBLE DESPITE BAD CREDIT

We've all had tough times at one point or another. Most important of all, don't be afraid or embarrassed about trying to start again. Everyone deserves a second chance.

There is a big difference between a person who had a bad experience in his or her life and a person who is a bad credit risk.

The three main questions that every mortgage lender asks are:

What happened? This means that he will be interested in knowing what caused you to have the bad credit experience.

What did you do about it? The lender will look for efforts that you made to try and work things out.

What do you plan to do so that it never happens again? The lender will need to see that you're back on your feet, and that you have learned from your bad experience and made the appropriate changes in your financial life to ensure that you don't face the same problems again.
If your answers to these questions satisfy the mortgage lender, even if you had credit problems in the past, you can still qualify for a loan.

GETTING A MORTGAGE DESPITE A PREVIOUS BANKRUPTCY

You can buy a home a lot sooner than you might expect. The important thing is to know clearly that you're in a position to buy.

After bankruptcy, there are three factors that you will have to deal with:

Your credit history prior to your bankruptcy
The cause of the bankruptcy
How you have handled your finances since the bankruptcy

For example, if you were in a business partnership that was unsuccessful because of the economy, and your credit was good before and after the failure, the bankruptcy was unusual for your credit standards. In this case, the bankruptcy will not hold you back from getting a mortgage.

The time frame that you're looking at is two years after the bankruptcy was discharged. However, if you have declared Chapter 13 bankruptcy, where you are actually paying back your creditors through a court approved plan, your approval for a mortgage may be quicker.

Don't hesitate, and give your mortgage professional a call. You can get a mortgage even after bankruptcy.