Do You Have Credit to Get a Mortgage?

For many, getting their first credit card isn’t all that hard – but for some, it’s a long hard road. If you’re trying to get a private mortgage or conventional mortgage without credit, you’re going to need to find alternative sources of credit. Remember: bad credit and no credit are NOT the same thing – if anything you may even want to have bad credit more than you would want to have no credit. Different lenders will work with you depending on your situation, but either way you’re going to want to work on your credit. Even just getting a starter loan like a car loan or a low limit credit card can help.

You May Have Credit Already

The first thing you need to do is identify alternative sources of credit, you may have them already but you just don’t know it! When lenders are looking at a credit report they’re going to look for something known as a trade line – this is a different kind of credit you can leverage to show your credit worthiness. You may have to shop around with a few different lenders find the one that will work with you; working with a Canada mortgage broker can help you figure out which lenders are the right ones for you to approach.
Mobile Phone Bills – if you have a mobile phone, you may be able to leverage this. You been a good customer for years, you paid on time, but you made a few mistakes but don’t count yourself out just yet. If you want to use your mobile phone bills as a trade line, you’ll need to contact your mobile phone carrier and see if they can write a letter. Think of it as a recommendation. The same can be said for any other utility you have in your name.
Rent – trading on the goodwill your landlord is another way to get a trade line of credit. Of course, you are going to have to let your landlord know that you’re planning to move out – or at the very least that you’re looking for a house to buy. You can’t leave them in the lurch anyway, so it’s a good idea to let them know what’s going on; just like with your mobile phone carrier, you’ll want to get a letter to attach to your application.

You May Want to Get Credit

Getting a low limit credit card or small auto loan can help improve bad credit drastically, and help people who have no credit establish a credit history. Instead of having to worry about things like trade lines, you’ll be able to get everything you need to get your private mortgage or conventional mortgage.
When you don’t have credit but you want a mortgage, a Canada mortgage broker can help you find the right lender. After all, the last thing you want to do is run around in circles when you don’t have to!
Erin Thompson is a mortgage broker and financial blogger for Homebase Mortgages.  HBM is a Toronto mortgage broker that provides portable mortgages in Toronto, mortgages for the self-employed, home equity loans and lines of credit, debt consolidation, private mortgage lending and second mortgages. You can visit their bad credit mortgages webpage at http://www.homebasemortgages.ca/debt-consolidation/bad-credit/