He Has as Good as Credit as You Can Get... I Have the Worst - What Happens When

Mine was the opposite. I had good credit, and although his wasn't bad....he just didn't have ANY. He was 32 and always paid for everything with cash, including cars. Still to this day he doesn't have credit, almost everything is in my name except for the vehicles that allowed him to be on it with me, which helps his credit.

As far as houses go, they have now where they take the best score out of both couples. So chances are, there is no need to worry about that.

Best of Luck!

I have been married for 5 yrs and it's the same with us--I had a couple of credit cards in college that were charge-offs and then there's my hubby--the responsible attorney with flawless credit. So far it hasn't affected him at all, so maybe it will be fine for you guys too! Good Luck!

Be up front with him and definately sit down with your finances before you get married. Let me suggest Dave Ramsey to get you back on track with your finances. He has a website; I think it is www.DaveRamsey.com. The credit issue will follow you whether you want it to or not so you might as well hit it head on.Sit down with your fiance' and make a committment to work on it together. Make a budget. Also, I suggest finding out what radio station to listen to Dave Ramsey in your area and do it daily!! You two have to make this commitment together on all finances for it to work. You definately don't want a marriage to be built on a foundation of lies or separate lives/finances. The whole reason for marriage is to become one.So, lay your finances out front and if he truly loves you, he will accept this part of you as well. We are all flawed. I hope this helps.

Actually, if you file jointly on credit and he is the primary, banks will only look at HIS credit score. The only thing they take from you is your income and your debt (to determine the combined debt to income ratio). So if there is more debt in your name and your income doesnt make up for it, then that alone would be cause for him to be the only person on new debt.

THe good thing is that even though your score will not hurt getting approved, on time payments and paying off the debt will IMPROVE your score!

Hope that helps!

I don't think your credit will affect you buying a house...I believe that if he has good credit your bad credit is not enough to be denied a loan. I may be wrong, but the only way to find out would be to call a reputable lender and find out. Also, you can put the loan in just his name if your income isn't needed to qualify for the house. And, Texas is a community property state, so if you are married when you buy the house, its half yours...regarledless if you are on the loan or not. And, I think you have to be married for a bank to not deny the loan based soley on your credit score....call the bank and ask them...they should be able to help guide you through!

Good luck!

I know that when I tried to buy a car with my mom as a co-signer they told me that their practice is to base the interest off of the one with the lower credit score, and then they only use the co-signer as kind of a guarantor for the loan to get the loan approved. It doesn't help to get a better interest rate. I'm pretty sure that is the way they do mortgage loans as well. My suggestion would be not to co-mingle funds, no joint bank accounts, no joint tax filings, etc.

Dear M R:
You can use his credit for house and car, and if you do everything right from now on, you can clean up your credit in seven years. From the payoff date an item will drop out of the reports after seven years, so pay up and don't incur new stuff. Your ex should no longer influence you. If you have joint long-term debt (with your ex), try refinancing so it is in your name. Get professional assistance from debt consolidators.

One warning: My wife was the same way and one day she added me to her Sears card (without my knowledge or signature). I got hit with her bad debt from years before we met!!! I went to Sears and disputed the card, so they took it all off. Do not add your hubby to any old stuff. Try to close it all, and most importantly keep your payments steady to avoid new messes.

Regards,
W.

If you are going to use your income to purchase the house, then you will have to use your credit. If not, then you don't. My husband and I have been married 14 years and while I worked part time here and there... we never used my income for anything so most of our stuff is in his name.

The person who said the house won't be yours is wrong. Texas is a community property state. My name was no where on the loan, but had to be on the deed. If you are married yours will as well. It may be possible to put your name on the deed even if you aren't married, but you might want to call a title company and verify that. I don't even believe filing taxes together makes a difference. Just don't ask him to cosign for you for anything.

Good luck!

In our house it is the same story... only reversed. Somehow I ended up with the perfect credit while hubby struggles from his past being laid off and divorced, etc. It is a very sensitive issue when it comes to buying a house because he is the one who makes the money and I'm staying home (so our incomes inevitably will need to be joined.)

My best friend is in the same boat as you. Somehow she and her husband got into a new house. They had to sacrifice a little and had to settle for a large inexpensive home that isn't in the nicest neighborhood... it's not bad, only not exactly where they were hoping for, but they are homeowners nonetheless... I think there is hope for you since he is the one with good credit and income. As for filing separately I have no idea... I'm sorry!

If you are applying for a home loan you can use one or both your names on the ap. His Credit may be good enough to carry a higher loan amount for the bigger house. Your credit will effect the interest rate given on that loan. I would go ahed and apply together, you can always re-finance in the future.
In the mean time you need to work on improving your credit. Divorce can be brutal on one's credit score.
Do your research on home loans, the internet is a great source of instant information.
Good luck!

My husband and I have a realty and mortgage business and we've collectively been in the business for 35 years. We have totally separate credit files, mainly for business purposes. However, we file joint married taxes. The two are completely separate. Any property you purchase in TX is community property. We both have properties (both the one we live in and investment), financed separately, yet we both still own them because we're married. Oh, and you CAN have joint bank accounts - that has nothing to do with it.

In regards to your credit. You can hire a credit repair company for their assistance, or you can talk to a qualified mortgage professional who can offer you free tips, and then do the leg-work yourself. (Because there are so many issues that I could potentially address, I can't really offer any specific advice on this venue.) If you are self-employed, there is a high probability that you will not be on the loan anyway, especially with challenged credit.

The way you keep his credit clear of your mishaps, don't add him as an authorized user on any of your active cards. He can add you to his, which in time, will begin to raise your scores as you clean up past issues. And, it goes without saying, don't apply for joint credit (car loans, instant credit, mortgages, etc.) because your scores and lack of provable income could negatively affect the terms you receive.

BTW - I've looked at the responses below mine, many of you are incorrect. Bad credit CAN and will prevent someone from getting a mortgage loan. The days of qualifying if you can fog a mirror are over, for now - watch the financial news. Unless you are applying for an FHA loan, your credit and income can be left off of the loan, as long as your husband can qualify independently. FHA is different for many reasons. Also, the 7 year rule DOES NOT APPLY. It sounds like a great idea, but those debts are sold from 1 collector to the next and will keep popping up until they are settled or successfully removed. Until then, they will show as outstanding on your report. When you are disputing past delinquencies, the creditors do not care what your explanation is. The best thing to do is write to the 3 Credit agencies (Experian, Equifax and Transunion) indicating the account in dispute, with this phrase, "This information is inaccurate, please update the records." That places the burden upon the lender to prove you owe, etc.

Sorry to sound harsh, but I deal with people operating on false beliefs about this every day! It gets a little old.

If you have further questions, please email me ____@____.com

C.

Hi, I just wanted to suggest Dave Ramsey (www.daveramsey.com) as well. My husband and I took his course and are still working at getting out of debt completely. His course literally saved us. It will open your eyes about debt and credit and will help you clean up any mistakes you've made in the past. Definitely work on that because right now getting a home loan is MUCH more difficult than it was just a year ago. Good luck!

When we bought our house and our car, we just used my husband's credit, since he has awesome credit. We are now in the process of house hunting again, and although my credit has improved, it's still not great. So if we included my credit in the approval process for the loan, we would end up with higher interest rates. So again, we are just using his credit. When we file our yearly taxes, though, we file jointly.

Make sure and check your credit and try to fix everything you can that is outstanding. Go ahead and get a card or two in your name, but don't use them, or only use them once or twice a year and immediately pay them off.

Good luck!

Hi M R, I am a mother with grown children. I am 52 Yrs old when my husband and I married I was in a similar situation. We had 3 children ages 6-11 and wanted to buy a house, but we found out that we had to clean up my credit, the loan officer told us to write each of our debtors, explain the situation then ask what the least amount of pay off they would except. We were truelly suprised. The amounts were fair and we were able to pay them fairly quickly. One example: Gas card we owed $127.00 they only wanted $25.00 to clear the bill. Needless to say we were very excited. Hope this helps.

keep in mind if he puts a home in his name only, if something hapens to the relationship-you could end up on the street with nothing. I recommend cleaning up your credit first, then get a bigger house together!

Filing your taxes has nothing to do with credit scores. file jointly. We are in the same boat and have been married for 12 years. When we bought our house the loan is in his name but since texas is a common property state (when you are married you are entitled to 1/2 or the marital assets even if they are not in your name) our home title is in both of our names. but they did not even need to check my credit to buy our homes that we have bought through out our marriage. He gets the loan in his name but you will both sign the papers for the house title at the title company. but only he will sign the loan papers. Just work on repairing your credit. Good luck- A. J

Credit...Hi there; my name is T. Brown...a friend of mine Cheryl just invited me into this forum a few days ago so I am new at this. But I am a realtor here locally in Leander/Cedar Park and I feel your pain for the credit. It is hard to overcome bad credit, but there are lots of ways you can do this.

I currently just hired a company to clean up my and my husbands, we do not have bad credit but our scores are really low because there are inaccuracies being reported.

Anyway I wouldn't recommend this company if I didn't personally work with them. It is a 6 month program, and they have already gotten items completely removed from my credit. We are planning to build in about 8 months, and I have to have over a 700 score to do that...

I bet if you look into this you could get your credit squared away to be able to buy that house, if you work and have income it would be more beneficial to your family to show the two incomes for qualifying for the mortgage. Unless he makes enough to show your debt is less than 40% of his income, and that includes the house payment. I don't know about your circumstances, but I do not know many people that have a 50% plus available income every month that is not allocated to bills.

Let me know if you have any more questions, I have great contacts for answers...

Take care, and good luck.

Oh yea the name of the credit repair is http://www.gacsolutions.com/ go to the website and give them a call if you like, you can ask for Aaron Hawkins and tell him that T. Brown referred you, he should give you a good deal...probably a discount if you tell him I referred you, ;)

My husband and I work in the mortgage industry and we deal with credit issues all the time. I was talking to him about your situation and your bad credit and his good credit will stay seperate, it doesn't merge. If you get a bigger home the loan, may need to be in his name so you can get the best interest rate, however you would both be on the title work.
You really shouldn't feel bad about bringing bad credit over to the new husband, it doesn't work that way. When we started out my husband had bad credit d/t an accident he had in high school. I had no credit, and we couldn't get a car, not even a mattress. Slowly but surely we just started building up our credit on my side. Later when we bought a home we did have to do a little credit repair on his side but it was minor. There is a huge assumption out there that it takes forever to rebuild your credit, but if you work on it by replacing it with good accounts your fico scores could be decent in a year. Hope this helps.
J.

Have him apply for the home mortage on his own while you get your credit cleaned up.

i have no advice, i am actually in the exact same position as you and just want to check out what other people think about it! good luck!

Because you are self employed you will have to go stated income for a loan, and your credit would have to be even stronger - lenders look at you as a bigger risk. If your future husband makes enough on his own to be able to qualify on his own then that would be your best option - between his good credit and income you should have more options. It isn't an issue of filing taxes together or joint. In the mean time you need to get the most current copy of your credit you can and then slowly begin working on fixing it. A lender can provide you with one and it should also have a contact number for the collectors to call - don't be afraid to try to bargain with them, they would be happy to get any money they can. If it is your debt from a previous mariage, make sure it wasn't addressed in the divorce decree (if it was you can get anything that was assigned to him taken off of your side as well). Good Luck with it!

Hi -

Your bad credit WILL definitely affect him, if you carry joint accounts. Don't apply for any credit cards with him (That will automatically tie your credit together). However, if you are "reformed" and want to help bring your score up, you can have him add you on to his account as an authorized user. That will increase your score. (But don't be surprised if somehow you get your credit tied together that way.)

Since interest rates vary based on credit score, make sure that he is the only person on any account that you will carry a balance on (Home, Car, etc.)

If you are single or married - does not matter. It is if you try to have a joint account for anytghing financial. If you have bad credit any financial institution may not be able to use your credit information. If he qualifies on his income alone, they can put you on the deed for the house without the mortgage.

My husband had the SAME situation. His ex had caused his credit to be in the toilet. We used Halo Cradit Solutions (18663660441) and in 6 months they raised my husbands credit score by 200 points. You may want to try something like that and just get it corrected. We are now building a new home becuase of it!

Get a book on repairing your credit and do the things in it.
Let creditors know you are divorced, whatver it says. Letting them know your correct address can raise your score.
I am not a credit GURU, however, I know you have the right to explain your situation and request the letter of explanation be in your file.
Our credits neither are PERFECT and we bought a nice house and as long as your INCOME is a certain % greater than your assets, you can too. You may have to wait a few years to buy... spend that time correcting everything, but YOU CAN DO IT!

just as your previouse marriage effected your credit so will your marriage to the new man effect both of your credit scores ... as long as your in your marriage for life there is not a problem with only financing in 1 name vs. 2 but if you divorce there are consiquences to this . . . credit can be repaired it just takes time and money . .

The only thing that matters when you get married is keeping all of your credit separate (no joint credit cards, no joint loans). This is sometimes an emotional issue since you want to be joined equally in a marriage. Since you work, your income would be be needed to qualify for a larger loan amount than if your husband applies alone, but your bad credit WILL affect the loan and your qualification for it.

Until you get the credit cleaned up, EVERYTHING WITH THE HOUSE should BE IN HIS NAME! The thing that the gal said about you "being in the street" if something happened to your marriage actually depends on the state you live in. Many states have joint rights for partners regarding property regardless who actually owns it, but it doesn't hurt to check into it to be on the safe side. I am sure you know what your credit is like, but start by getting a free copy of your credit report. You can get your free annual copy of your credit report by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com or by calling 1-877-322-8228.

The second thing to do is to destroy all of your store-specific credit cards...Old Navy, Gap, Dillards, JC Penney, etc. If you have to have a card, keep only one MC, Visa or Amex. Most people don't know that having too much in the way of open credit lines can bring their credit score down. Contact all of the companies directly and close those extra accounts. Also, contact each of the companies with whom you have a bad account and ask them what they can do to help you raise your credit or help you to pay off your balances. Even without a company calling on your behalf, many companies will waive the monthly interest rates so they get paid something instead of nothing. Make sure they contact the three agencies when you have completed their requirements. Here are the three companies.

Equifax: 1-800-525-6285, www.equifax.com, P.O Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241

Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN ###-###-####), www.experian.com, P.O Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013

TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289, www.transunion.com, Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

I completely understand your delemma. There are ways to try and fix your credit if you go through a service, but it does take time and money. However, if you are looking to buy a house, you would definitely want the loan to ONLY be in his name. If you both apply for the loan, your credit score will bring the interest rate up and you may not qualify for the better programs that they offer. If his credit is really good and his debt ratio isn't high, he will qualify for those programs by himself. You can still both hold the title to the house, if you want, though.