Repair Your Credit Before Buying Or Selling A Home

We're coming up on Summer and that is usually a hot time for buying or selling a home.  You need to consider the shape of your credit before you take the leap to either buy or sell real estate. It might seem like it doesn't matter how your credit is when you are selling your home but believe me, you are a prime target for the collection vultures. They're definitely preying on potential buyers but sellers usually have equity and they want to get hold of some of it as well.

For sellers, you're not going to be able to hide the public records like tax liens and judgments. The title company will almost always force you to pay those off before they will allow you to close escrow.  You may also get hit with claims from creditors and collectors that get wind of your transaction.  It's not hard for them to find out that you are selling your home so you really need to take care of your credit issues before you open escrow, and preferably before you even list your home for sale.  

Many times sellers are also going to be buyers. Again, you will want your credit in the best shape possible.  Even if your new lender doesn't require you to pay off certain alleged debts prior to funding, getting these things either paid or off your credit reports is most likely going to raise your credit scores, which will give you a better loan rate and save you thousands - even hundreds of thousands of dollars on your home loan and possibly other credit down the line. 

Some lenders will approve you for a loan with a mid FICO score of only 580. That is typically an FHA loan. However, debt to credit and debt to income ratios play a part in qualifying for a loan.  The higher your score, the better your interest rate. The less debt, and yes that includes 3rd party collector debt, the better your ratios are going to be. Many times your lender will tell you to pay off  the bad debts showing on your credit reports.  That's not necessarily the best advice, many times it is bad advice, but then again, they don't know credit repair the way a professional credit repair expert knows it.

I HATE, HATE, HATE anyone having to pay a 3rd party collector anything!  If you've read even just a few of my blog posts, you'll know that and you'll know that I stand firm in my claim that you don't owe a collection company a dime!  This is one of the main reasons that if you are contemplating buying or selling a home in the near future and your credit is not perfectly clear of these types of accounts, you need credit repair help soon.  You may also be in a position to need to rebuild your credit as well. This is where getting together with a professional credit repair consultant can really assist you in getting ready to buy a home.

Two other main items to address before buying a home are tax liens and judgments.  These are public record items but many times lenders don't pull public records reports on borrowers. So, if they are showing on your credit reports, you want to get them off. Otherwise, your lender might make paying them off a condition of  funding your loan.  Again, removing these types of items are where hiring an expert to assist you really helps you save many thousands of dollars.

I don't worry too much about removing bankruptcies from credit reports. It's not like you can hide the fact that you've had one (or more) in the last few years.  You have to disclose that on the loan application.  If you don't disclose it, you run the risk of being accused and possibly prosecuted for bank fraud. Don't go there.  

Bankruptcies are VERY difficult to remove from credit reports. You have to disclose the fact that you've had one when you apply for a home loan, so I just wouldn't worry too much about removing them.  Yes, attempt to remove them, but don't feel defeated if it doesn't come off.  At least it's not like a collection, tax lien, judgment or charge off showing a balance that might need to get paid in order to close escrow if it's showing on your credit reports.

Interest rates on home loans are still pretty decent but they're not going down; they're going to be going up. Now is the time to get to work on your credit if you're thinking of buying or selling a home in the near future. If you're thinking about buying in less than a year, then its probably best to hire someone to assist you. 

If you're needing to move and you're going to rent, if your credit has collections and public records, you are in the same position as a potential home buyer.  Landlords want to rent to people that have good credit. If they see you have tax liens,judgments, collections, charge offs with a balance higher than $0, they're going to choose to rent to someone with better credit  than you.  Your score will also reflect a lower number as well and that is a turn off to landlords.

 Credit repair is what I've done professionally for over 30 years.  My business partner has done credit repair for over 20 years.  We've taught other credit repair companies how to do it successfully. We are true experts. We want to help you purchase your home.  We want to help you keep the equity your home has earned.  We want to help you be able to rent your next home.  We want to help you. 

If you're ready to get your credit reports looking much prettier and your credit scores higher, we'd love the opportunity to help you reach your goals.  Email me today. Let us get you into your next home!  My email address is futurefico@gmail.com if you would like to contact me directly. You can also go to our website and fill out the form to get started with a free consultation. Just go to InsightCreditGroup.com so we can fight for you.