How can I buy after bankruptcy?

A huge part of being a mortgage broker is being an advisor and mortgage educator to my clients. This is especially true with first time home buyers.  Buying your first home is an important decision and some careful planning should go into it. After all it may take a couple years to save up for the down payment or stabilize one’s career.

For example, I met with a couple last week whose goal was to buy in the Chateauguay area in the next 3-5 years. Both are hard working salaried people. The catch was that one had a bankruptcy and the other had a collection. First we had to tackle the bankruptcy, meaning the client was discharged from bankruptcy but had no new credit history. I advised that a secured credit card be opened to start building credit history. As mentioned in previous blogs, the goal here would be to establish two major trade lines, with limits of $1200 each and two years of positive history with no late payments. In terms of my other client with the collection, we had to ensure that the collection was paid off ASAP and that she continues to pay the rest of her cards on time. It would not take long for her credit score to bounce back. Ideally, once the collection is paid off the banks like to see stable and no lates for a good 1-2 years as well.

This is a good example of mortgage planning and something that I will monitor with these clients over the next several months. We need to ensure that the secured credit card is reporting properly on the credit report. It will take the clients’ at least two years to rebuild credit but fortunately they are not in a rush as they also need to save up their down payment.

I welcome any mortgage questions or comments. Have a great week everyone.

Can I still buy or refinance with bad credit or after a bankruptcy?

On a regular basis I meet with individuals with bad credit,no credit, finishing off a consumer proposal or trying to establish creditafter being discharged from bankruptcy.  Frankly,there’s no shortcut to fixing credit. It usually takes some discipline, timeand sometimes some money to sign up for guaranteed credit credits.

To obtain a mortgage the banks typically like to see clientswith two major credit cards, with limits of approximately $1200 each and goodcredit history for at least 2 years.  Sometimeswith a couple late payments on credit cards or that pesky store credit card youforgot can affect your score. If you are concerned about your credit I wouldsuggest going online and paying for a full report. A self check into your owncredit does not affect your score. Your full report will give you not only yourscore but more detail on each account you have had the past 6 to 9 years.  If you have no credit or bad history the past2 years then it might be worth it to order a secured credit card. You will needat least $500-600 to get that started. Please ensure that you are not getting apre-paid card as that new credithistory may not appear on your credit report and you’ve just wasted a lot oftime and effort.

If you feel absolutely over-whelmed with credit card debtand your mortgage payments then you may be forced to refinance which ispossible even if you have bad credit. Typically such mortgages have a shorter1-3 year term which can be enough time to get your credit back in order. Themost important factors to keep in mind are you need good equity in yourproperty and ensure that you pay your mortgage on-time. After that initial termif all goes according to plan you should be able to return with a AAA-bank. 

If you’re looking to buy and have badcredit then typically banks would request 15-25% based on your specificcircumstances.

If you have any specific questions you’d like to discuss innext week’s article please feel free to email me.