Which would be more effective??

[bellagirl]

My husband bought a house 2 years ago soley in his name.  We reside in this house in Arkansas.  I would like to purchase a condo in Georgia as I have family there and visit often.  We do not wish this to be a " joint"  mortgage and am looking to finance soley in my name.  When attempting to secure the loan how would I justify property in another state?  because of this will it be harder to obtain a pre approval?

Also,  I have about $11,000 in credit card debt that maxes out all credit cards.  My credit score is around 640.  I could pay off all the credit card debt but then I would have no funds for down payment or closing.  My question is would it be better to pay the debt and have no down payment or have the debt but have a down payment?   Ive already priced condos in the area im seeking and they range $28,000- $32,000. 

Finally,  for a loan so tiny could I still obtain a 30 year mortgage or does the bank require a shorter term?

Thank you.

[cdtotten]

First off, I wouldn't be even thinking about purchasing a condo when your credit cards are maxed out.. .especially with over $10k in debt. You need to pay that off asap - you are throwing money away on interest, and your credit score is most likely in the toilet.

Now once you get that worked out, you will not be able to take a 30 year mortage out on a $30k condo. Every lender I have ever heard of our dealt with will have a floor of $50,000 at a minimum (which typically has a much higher interest rate). Bank's have to make money, so stretching out a $30k loan over 30 years is rediculous to them.

The only way to finance such a small loan is going to be to do a hard money personal loan, but it will most likely bear interest in the range of 8-10% at a minimum I would think. I'm not sure you would qualify for that though with a credit score that low (if that is a FICO score).