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Beginning the long road to our first home

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Anonymous
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Beginning the long road to our first home

My wife and I are tired of apartment and city life so have decided to work towards purchasing a small farm by the end of next year.  Our credit, to put it plainly, sucks due to foolish decisions we've made  over the years.  We have begun paying off the old debts listed on our credit reports, contacting each creditor and negotiating a settlement.  I have a $300 credit card which I am making regular payments on, at twice the minimum requested, and we are working on getting her a secured credit card.  By the way, our scores are currently 563 and 534 respectively.  Mine was 641 before recently purchasing a pickup truck and getting the unsecured card.  Are we on the right track?  What else can we do to improve our credit enough over the next year to qualify for a loan?  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!

 

P.S. I was laid off from my job recently and she is the breadwinner, a long-haul semi driver, and she makes very good money.

Message 1 of 4
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webhopper
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Beginning the long road to our first home

Best advice; get her scores up!!! Asap! With her being the one employed; her scores need to be at 640. They will go by her income; maybe not yours at all. Long haul drivers make good money and have great job security Smiley Happy

Get her a secured card and maybe a secured loan. Keep checking with the rebuilding forum as she is tackling those baddies. Best of luck man!
FICO 9:
Filed Chapter 13 on 6/1/2017 after job loss. Discharged 6/1/2022.

Goal: Gardening!


Message 2 of 4
webhopper
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Beginning the long road to our first home

Add her as an au to your card....
FICO 9:
Filed Chapter 13 on 6/1/2017 after job loss. Discharged 6/1/2022.

Goal: Gardening!


Message 3 of 4
germaine47
Frequent Contributor

Re: Beginning the long road to our first home

  1.  Have three tradelines reporting positively for one year, no lates (you may use non-traditional tradelines like electric or gas bill, but had a tough time with utilities saying that I was never 30 days late).
  2.  Make sure you have a minimum of 640 middle score it helped me tremendously with UW and getting pre-approved.
  3.  Save,Save put yourself on a budget stay a head of your finances by at least 30 days.  Know  where your money is going this frame of mind has given me the confidence in knowing I can succeed. 
  4.  Make sure you have enough put aside for down payment and closing cost.  I was blessed because I didn't have to pay a downpayment I went USDA Guaranteed but Sellers paid my Closing Cost about 5% of what my home was purchased for.

I like the fact you are planning ahead this is a great formula for your success, Congratulations

Fico September 2012; TU 681, EX 674, EQ 652
Fako October 2012: TU 706, EX 641,
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