Buying a home with less than perfect credit

There we were, two older adults, married recently, with less than perfect credit scores. The market was right to buy the home we really want live in for the rest of our lives. Retirement is 10-15 years away and we just wanted a place to garden, enjoy the outdoors and live peacefully.

What were we to do? We jumped in with both feet and got that home.

And it was not easy. The paperwork for prequalifying for a loan was taxing. Contacting old creditors who had not updated their reports to the 3 credit bureaus, was a test in patients. But, we took it one bite at a time and we closed last September.

The first time we went met face to face with our loan officerwe were anxious. Could we qualify? The "what ifs" of home ownership were banging around in our brains. But he was so positive that we would qualify. At first I thought he might be one of those phony salesmen... Oh contraire... he was so encouraging and laid out the process step by step...

Where did we go to get our loan? We went to the bank we had been dealing with for years. We just went into the branch office nearest our home and set the appointment.

After the first meeting, doing our homework meant lots of e mails and phone calls. We were now ready for the next step. Actually signing paperwork for pre qualifying for a loan took so much time and again patients. Even more issues were brought up.  We found out that many of our past creditors did not act upon the updates we had requested weeks before and communication with them had to be repeated often. 

OH! Waiting was a test of our grit for sure. We were determined to get a home for gardening, and having our families over. A home that we could cook, do crafts, play pool in comfort, for the rest of our lives.

It happened, we pre qualified and started looking for a real estate agent.  We looked at dozens of homes online and visited a few.  The week before Memorial Day we got a call and a link to a home that was perfect.  On our way to a canoe camping trip we stopped by and made an offer within a few hours. 

We were involved in a short sale, on a beautiful place and purchased it for less than half of it's value a decade ago.

Did we get what we wanted? Yes.  And our dream home is no more expensive that the townhouse we had been renting for over 8 years.  We have been living here for four and a half months and are so happy we went through the process and ended up with a great place to live out our life.

good luck on your search... keep in touch with your loan officer and walk it out..

let me know if this hub was helpful to you..