If you are considering buying a home and have bad credit, that’s where you should start. Most people don’t really know what their score is. The first step to homeownership is looking at your credit report. You can either go to a mortgage broker and get a free copy if you intend to get preapproved or you can order one online. Just be sure to get one that gives you the three scores and three reports by all three credit reporting bureaus.

The next step is to go over every line in your report. If there are any mistakes, you should contact the credit bureaus and have them fixed. If there are late payments, there’s little to be done about them, but if there are unpaid items, I would suggest paying them before looking into homeownership.

Ideally, it would take you about a year to two years after paying all outstanding debts and continuing to pay all your bills on time to qualify for a home purchase. But the road is worth it!

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