My fiance and I are looking for a place to live. Is it better to rent an apartment or buy a house or condo?

Question

My fiance's credit is pretty good, but mine is not. Several years ago, I was unemployed and had no way of getting income to pay any of my bills for almost a year before I was able to find steady work again. Because of this, my credit is in shambles. But, I have a steady job now and am making okay money. I've just started to attempt making a dent in repaying my debts, one at a time. To make the long story short, I'm having a hard time finding a place to live because no apartment would accept me unless my fiance and I have a co-signer, despite the fact that we could easily pay for an apartment ourselves. We'd prefer to have our own house, but because of my credit we would be stuck with a very high interest rate when applying for a mortgage. My fiance can't apply for a mortgage alone because he doesn't quite make as much as I do. What would be the best thing for my fiance and I to do--rent and get someone to co-sign for us, rent a condo, buy a home, or repay all my debts first?

Answer 1

It all depends on what you can afford. If you feel that you're not ready to buy a home then get a co-signer. But one thing I've always been told is that the younger you are when you start buying a house, the better. If you think about buying then check on HUD or FHA loans. They help people with bad credit. It's worth a try. You need a place to live so try findind something and work out some type of payment plan for paying your debts off. I hope that this helps a little and I wish you and your fiance the best.

Answer 2

Hmm... if you can wait and repay all your debts first, then do that. Hopefully you'll be able to better your credit during that time.

If you can't wait. Then I would buy a house or condo. Even thought the interest rate will be higher, at least your money will be going into an asset. If you get an apartment, your money isn't given you anything except for a roof over your head. Once you move out of an apartment you get nothing from it.

Answer 3

Dave Ramsey (popular financial guru on the radio) would say 'Pay your debts first!' However some of us do not wait that long so I would suggest of putting an ad in the paper(s) that you are looking for a place to rent then when they call explain your situation. I would not buy right now because of your credit. I can say that because my husband and two kids did not wait either and we bought. It is $250 MORE than what we're use to paying in rent due to interest. It's MORE THAN tight!! Not a good plan! Good luck!