How long will it take for me to get a decent Fico Score in order to get a home loan?

I am a renter thinking about purchasing a townhome or condo in my neighborhood for about 3-5 years, selling and then finally moving into my perm. home in the same neighborhood. My rent is increasing from 946 to 1011 a month and instead of wasting that money, I'd like to put it toward a home.



Problem: No savings, Poor credit history, Fico score between 499-526 from all three credit agencies 35/K a year, 6+ years with my job, and the loan amount I'm looking to finance is between 164-219/K.



I figured it would be cheaper for me to buy instead of renting which I'll be doing for the next 3-5 years if I can't get a home loan.



I know my credit situation is bleak. How long will it take to ramp my fico score to at least the national average and what other advice can anyone of you give for a first time home seeker looking to buy in the near future? What can I do for the next year to get my score up?



Oh I live in Houston, TX btw..



Thanks in Advance!!How long will it take for me to get a decent Fico Score in order to get a home loan?
For buying a house Credit History is much more important than credit score. Often, the lack of credit history is equated with bad credit. You should be aware that lenders will go through your credit report once you apply for loan for buying a house. Therefore you should polish your credit report. Anyway, in order to establish a good credit history and at the same time risen your credit score in a short time do following things:



1) Close all of your credit cards but one. It reflects in your credit report and it is a very good sign. For instance say that you have 5 credit cards with $1000 credit limit for each. Therefore you are responsible for $5000 of possible debt. But when you close 4 of them, now you are only responsible for $1000 of debt which lowers the level of risk of lending money to you.



2) If you have any loan, like car loan or any balance on your credit cards, try to pay more than your monthly payment for 6 months or something. I mean say your monthly due on your car loan is $150, try to pay $250 each month. Lenders can see these trends in your credit report and they see that you鈥檙e a responsible borrower.

If you don鈥檛 have such loans, I suggest getting a $3000-$4000 loan and paying it off in full in 5-6 months. You might pay $200-$300 of interest but you will save thousands of dollars in your home mortgage and interest rates.



There are more information here:

http://www.howtoestablishgoodcredit.com/鈥?/a>How long will it take for me to get a decent Fico Score in order to get a home loan?
Well, speaking from personal experience...my FICO score was 515 last October and it is now 580. I've paid off several debts, and also got several of those ';loser'; credit cards such as orchard bank (orchardbank.com), First Premier (firstpremier.com) and Credit One Bank (creditonebank.com). They charge fees, but if you pay them on time and keep your balance low, that will surely help! They report to all three credit bureaus. But sadly, the only thing that can help your FICO score is time. If you pay your current bills on time and keep your balances low, your score will surely raise.



Please, do not be caught up in the overnight schemes that promise to fix your credit.



I will give you one potentially helpful tip. Order your credit report from someplace like transunion.com or freecreditreport.com and dispute any and everything you can. Even if it is legitimate. The credit bureaus have 30 days to respond, and if they don't they are obligated by law to remove whatever it is from your credit report.



Email me if you have any questions...jrbaytown@yahoo.com.
Try the resource below. You'll find plenty of articles on the credit scoring system, that will help you get the information you need
You should have no problem at all at the low end of your estimate-- 3 years-- to do this.



JR gave you two good credit cards to try out-- First Premier, and Orchard. yes, you will have some fees that seem costly at first (First Premier has a $250 limit and all but $75 or so is used up with the initiation fee, annual fee, etc) but these can realy help make a difference if used responsibly.





You dont say why you have a low score....but if you have any outstanding collections or delinquent accounts, take care of those asap. Dispute every bad item on your report-- late pays, collections, etc.... some can be deleted even if they are legitmate. :-). It works! trust me!!



Use those two credit cards wisely by keeping them below 25% of their limit an paying on time each month.



You should be able to get to the upper 500's within a year and hopefully well into the 600's within 3.