Numbers dictate everything we do in life, and as much as you may despise this, it’s the way the cookie crumbles. You’d need the right numbers to get into college, so it makes sense that you would need the right numbers to get the loan you want – or the house.

The only problem is that the numbers don’t always tell the true story. There could have been a time in life where you were financially fraught. Perhaps you were made redundant from your job in the recession and you had some missed payments. Perhaps it got so bad once that you needed the help of a bankruptcy attorney to get out of the mess. Maybe all this was twenty years ago and since then, you’ve been stable financially and have built up a good life for yourself. Sometimes, those credit numbers can shove huge roadblocks in your way when you’re just trying to get on in life. Don’t panic too much, though. Your credit may have been bad for years – maybe it still is – but that doesn’t mean that you won’t ever be able to buy a house.

Bad credit may go beyond the score that you use for your credit rating, but that doesn’t mean that hope is lost for a home of your own one day! So, to get yourself in position, let’s take a closer look at four tips that you need to ensure that you can buy a house with bad credit.

• Up Your Deposit. For those with a lower credit score, you need a bigger down payment and that’s a necessary thing to save for. It’s not an option because it’s up to you to prove that you can afford this house. The bigger the down payment, the less you have to borrow. If you can manage a 20% deposit, then go for it ASAP. It shows the lender that you have more than enough security and control that you can manage your finances despite your past.
• Scrap Other Credit. Before you even approach a lender about buying a house, pay down any other debts that you may have and 0 your balances. You want a clean sheet, and this is a good way to show that you have made consistent payments on your debts in the past.
• Emphasize Your Stability. A lender for a mortgage doesn’t always use an automated system to tell you that you can’t have a mortgage. They also have the ability to manually underwrite your loan, which sets the fact that you have a low score to one side. If you can show them that you have financial stability in other ways, then they’ll be far more generous with their answer. Show them you’ve paid your rent for a whole year and you’ll be making a great start.
• Go Private. If the bank says no – or you’ve been advised but not yet credit checked, then think about other places to go to for your loan. Private lenders often have a different criteria for you to work with, which could prove fruitful!

The path to home ownership is not yet lost: find the way through it!