My boyfriend and I just closed on an apt in NY for $585k. We have a private lender that is holding the note at 0% interest and we will be making monthly "mortgage" payments to him.
In 6-8 months we are going to pay him back by refinancing the apartment. This is where we are taking a risk because we don't know how the refi situation is going to play out. The worst case scenario is we sell the apartment and make a profit because we bought it at around $65k under market. However, we'd like to stay there and I'm worried my finances may complicate things.
Back in '07 I was making six figures in finance and got laid off. I couldn't pay my credit cards, studen loan and had to move and things spiraled out of control and I ruined my credit. A little less than a year ago my scores were below 600 and now they are 692, 643 and 663. The highest being Transunion where I was able to remove almost all negative accounts from that time. The lowest score being Experian which has the most negative accounts.
I'd like to bring my scores up to above 700 and refi with my boyfriend. His scores are in the 760 range, all accounts in good standing. Our combined income is $150k, we have savings and also gift money from our parents. Besides my '07-'08 all my other accounts are in excellent standing. My student loan payment is $220 a month, I'm an authorized user on my mom's card and have two other credit cards with a low balance where I make payments on time.
Besides hoping I can get the negative accounts off with Experian and Equifax (it worked with Transunion), how can I make myself a better mortgage candidate? If I do have unpaid negatives on my account, will the bank make me pay them? I would pay everything now if it made a difference but it's not changing my score.
Any advice would be appreciated as I really would like to stay in this apartment and don't want to be the reason why we weren't approved for a refi.
