Well, there are a lot of factors as far as qualifying you to purchase based on what you say here. Poor credit and fair credit are somewhat subjective themselves. When you say fair do you mean a FICO score above 630? If yes, that improves your chances. What are your debt to income ratios like? This is another important part of purchasing - if you have good income and very little debt (i.e. your house payment and all other payments combined are less than 30% of your gross income) that is another factor in your favor. As your income to debt ratio increases, the chances of you getting a loan decrease. Do you have any judgements or liens against you? Understand that any collections, judgements or liens will typically have to be paid off prior to closing.

University of Iowa Credit Union in Grinnell has some in-house loan products that are often good at working with challenges. I would suggest giving them a call, they can do an application over the phone for you and just tell you where you stand. They also have a program to loan you the $8000.00 first time homebuyer credit if you qualify that you can use as down payment.

Contact a direct lender (a bank) and set up an appointment to discuss your specific situation. they will be able to tell you what type and amount of financing you can qualify for.