Buying A Home
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
More questions after "terrible credit" post
Thanks for all the great advice on the other post. I don't feel ready and I think I'm feeling more and more okay with renting (again). To answer some of the other questions, we've rented in the past and have a good history with that.
Our income is expected to increase - possibly double - in the next few months. We still have a few outstanding medical bills and other things that we haven't been able to pay until now. (I just went back to work in December.) From what I read, cleaning up those things will help a lot in a relatively short amount of time.
My questions are about NACA. The site was kind of overwhelming and confusing. Is it kind of a credit counseling program along with a mortgage-acquiring-helping program? I think it would be great if we could have some structured help with rebuilding our credit.
Re: More questions after "terrible credit" post
Yes. They work primarily with low-income people but will work with anyone. They charge what they call a "membership fee" (think it was $35) but that is the price they charge for pulling your credit reports. Then if I remember right there were "annual dues" which capped out at a certain amount or after 9 years which I didn't love.
You start out going to a seminar and they outline the program to you. They give you a checklist to get started. You do the tasks on your checklist and meet with your counselor. They will give you a handbook that clearly outlines what they do, why they do it and the steps you can take to becoming a homeowner.
They are not a mortgage lender. They are basically a credit counseling service. They'll work with you to pay down debt, get your financial act together and prepare you for being a responsible homeowner and managing a mortgage on a budget you can afford. They value advocacy so while they don't verify, a "requirement" of participating in the program is helping forward NACA's cause by volunteering for them.
They will tell you how much mortgage payment you can afford, which is supposed to be pretty in line with FHA guidelines. A big perk is mortgages acquired through NACA's program are at a lower interest rate and $0 down payment, which is beneficial to people who haven't been able to save the money for a down payment. Most people on this board will tell you that if you can't afford a DP then you can't afford a home, though.
We started the process with them, but they are very busy and things move at a super slow pace. It can take 6 months - 3 years to finish things out and be "mortgage ready." It all depends on your situation how long it will take.
If you have any specific questions let me know. I researched the crap out of them when we were first looking. The only reason we didn't go with it was because they were too slow and we qualified for an FHA instead.
I'm not sure if you found it since their website is so confusing but this page pretty clearly outlines their steps and requirements.
Yes, I will. Thanks again for sharing a bit of your history. I think we were in denial for a while but now I feel like I have a goal and some hope.
Sounds like you have had some good advice and are on the right track.
Paying bills on time make a huge impact on your score. Even if you aren't lowering your debt.
Pay down what items you can. It sounds like you will be able to take care of a few items soon, that is great.
Don't open or close any accounts, if at all possible. Maturity of accounts is another part of your credit score.
Get your balances below 50% of the credit limit. It may take time but it is a good goal. Also, if you get one balance down below 50% of the limit, begin working on the next.
After a little while of making payments on time, call your credit cards and ask if they can lower your interest rate.
Most of all, be diligent. Pay on time. Lower balances. Save some. It isn't a quick fix or an easy road but don't give up
Hope that helps and good luck!
Lighthouse State Beach, Santa Cruz.