It is possible to do a lease purchase with a low credit score. You would lease for a few months while working on your credit score and getting approved. You would also have a closing date already set up in advance. Check out this link for information about doing a lease purchase http://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Buying/removed-75328-- To maximize your 1st Time buyer benefits you would want to close on your home prior to June 30th 2009 - read my blog at http://activerain.com/blogsview/621702/Housing-and-Recovery-… for more info. Please contact me if you are interested in doing a lease purchase. Thanks

Paying off your credit cards completely will help your debt to income ratio, but may not help your credit score as much as getting your balances less than 50% on all your credit cards. Get rid of the high interest ones first. Check your credit reports and see if there are any old, outdated, or incorrect information on your credit report and work on getting them updated. Having no credit can be worse than having bad credit. It is usually easier/faster to fix bad credit than to build credit. It is possible to buy a home with 500 credit score but it will take more money down and interest rate will probably be higher.

I agree with Terry, a good lender can help you build your credit score up and advise you on which credit lines to keep open and which to close. If you need any recommendations for lenders in your area, feel free to give me a call or visit my website for valuable information and contacts.

Jade,
I wholeheartedly agree with the answers you have received thus far, but remember once you pay down or pay off your credit cards, DO NOT close the accounts. A good idea would be to get your FICO scores from all three credit bureaus. You can do this on line a http://www.myficoscore.com/12. When you have done this and review your credit report there will be links for you to write dispute letters to each bureau. Check your credit report and make sure there are no errors, as errors as simple as balances, can bring your score down. Good luck in your quest of home ownership!

Pretty simple really. Pay off any unsecured debt. Credit cards are hated by lenders who might be able to provide you with a mortgage. They all push unsecured debt, but on the other hand as soon as you have it they hate you. I have personally paid off credit cards one month and seen a spike of 100 points in my credit scores. If you cannot pay them off quickly, pay each card down to where your balances are below, say 50%, of the credit limit. Running up your credit cards to the credit line is a killer. Beyond this keep your oldest lines of credit or credit cards. Old credit is good.

There are countless other things, but paying down credit cards and time will heal all credit wounds.

If you are wanting to inprove your credit to purchase a home or just improve for future use a really good lender can sit down with you and make a plan for you. I work with a few lenders that willdo this as a courtesy with no charge to the customer. The best thing you can do is start paying your bills on time if you are behind on your bills you can call your creditors and ask them to forgive one month of payments they will add it to the final month. If you have any other questions or if you need help find a lender that will do this with you please feel free to contact me at terrijackson.realtor@gmail.com

1st do not pay someone to fix your credit.. no matter how great it sounds. Credit is built of time and if you have reviewed your credit report and the information is correct then the only thing that will build your credit score is timly payments and time from the last missed payment. Lenders look at more then the credit score number they look at the credit history,income to debt ratio, employment history and other issues.
So as much as I would LOVE to help you find your first home today.. I think it may be a bit of time before we get to work together.
Eric Reid,
Managing Broker Renaissance Realty Group Inc.
Short Sale Certified
Graduate Harris Real Estate University
Office: 404-921-2067 x 102
Fax: 770-513-4443
Search All Georgia Homes for Sale at http://www.GeorgiaOnlineHomes.com

Jade,

Your best bet to improve your credit, sadly, is not going to be buying a home. Without any detail about how your score got to where it's at, checkout bankrate.com's guide to improving your credit. Note, not one of the steps recommended is buying a home.

Good luck,

Jeffrey