You may want to contact the owner to see if they would consider renting - the longer a home has been on, the better the odds are that they would be willing to rent. Perhaps you could rent for 6 months while you get your finances and loan paperwork taken care of?

Gary Smith had good advice about going to the HUD website.

Janice,

For any home, you need to be pre-qualified or pre-approved by a lender. Most agents today will not show homes without a letter stating you are one of these. Most agents will also have some lenders that you can use.

You can also go to the HUD website and search for government approved lenders, housing counseling (if you're denied a loan by lenders), and if you qualify affordable housing. Look on the right hand side of this page for these links.

http://www.hud.gov/local/index.cfm?state=mi

Feel free to contact me through Trulia if you cannot find what you need on this site.

Hi Janice -

Do you have any money to put down with the purchase of a home? If you invest some of your own money into the home, lenders see that as a commitment to stay in the home. The more money you have, the easier it will be to get financing. I suggest talking with 3 mortgage lenders to get their opinions. Have them all provide Good Faith Estimates so you are looking at costs AND rates. Do you have a Buyer's Agent? They usually have some good lenders they work with. Also, check with your bank. They really like to help their members. Good luck!

Nicole Sleeva
nsleeva@cbpreferred.com