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How to Buy Real Estate With Bad Credit: A (Prospective) Homeowner’s Guide

Did you know it’s not impossible to buy real estate with bad credit?

Yes, it’s more challenging, but it’s not impossible. 

If you’ve been considering buying a house and don’t want to or just can’t wait several months to buy a home or start that real estate venture, this guide will help you find a way to make that happen.

Read on to learn more about how to buy a house with bad credit.

How to Buy Real Estate With Bad Credit

First, you’re probably wondering what bad credit is. You most likely need to learn more about why you have it and why it’s a lot harder to buy a house with bad credit.

You might not have the time it takes to repair your bad credit or pay off your debts, so there are other options for how to buy real estate with poor credit.

Consider Getting a Loan

There are a couple of different loans you can consider looking into, either from banks or the federal government.

If you choose a hard money loan, you’ll be dealing with private individuals or groups who offer short-term loans backed by real estate. They won’t fund your purchase of a home, but of real estate property. This is a good solution for you if you need money quickly.

If you’re looking at how to buy a home with poor credit, look into applying for a loan from the Federal Housing Administration. FHA loans are only for homes, but they come from traditional mortgage lenders and require minimum credit scores and a financial penalty.

Look Into a Partnership

Real estate partnerships are typically for those interested in investing in owning property and are a great solution if you need to buy real estate with bad credit. 

You do want to be careful who you consider a financial and real estate partnership with, though. If you already have bad credit, a bad partnership could bankrupt you and ruin your attempts to get off the ground and erase your bad credit.

When looking for a partner, you want someone whose skills and resources complement yours. Since you don’t have credit to bring to the table, make sure to offer up what you do have for the partnership (i.e., time, skills).

Turn to Seller Financing

Seller financing is another excellent option if you have bad credit. Typically, sellers won’t ask to see your credit score. Even if they do, the seller’s ownership of the property is the real boon.

When the seller owns a home and has no mortgage, there’s less financial risk or penalty for you and your real estate investment. It saves you from having to get a new loan and gives you the chance to make monthly payments until the property’s paid off.

You can explore seller financing through banks or individuals, either for real estate investment or the purchase of a home.

Start at the Source

Ideally, before you turn to any of these options for how to buy real estate with bad credit, you’ll find out why you have bad credit in the first place and work to get rid of it.

That being said, you can work on fixing your bad credit while also benefitting from the investments you make in real estate or a house, even with bad credit. Make sure to check out more of our content for helpful information in the future.