Yes you can buy a home with bad credit you just have to know how to go about it. For starters banks are not the only lending institutions out there. There are friends and family who often will have the resources to offer a person with bad credit a loan. They may only need to back a person with bad credit for a short period of time until they have their credit report back into the comfort zone of a bank or other lender. Try and find a banker you trust to get an exact estimate of your credit situation and how long it will take to qualify for a bank mortgage. Your credit history plays a key role in many aspects of your life, including the process of applying for a loan. Banks and Lenders will scrutinize your payment history on all of your previous loans, bankruptcy filings, and other financial history when deciding whether or not to approve your application. If the bank or lender isn't happy with your credit history, you might be required to make a larger initial deposit or be asked to settle for a higher interest rate to offset the risk - money talks. Bad credit home loans are geared to borrowers with less-than-perfect credit. You can choose cash-out refinancing, which will allow you to trade your existing mortgage for a new one and receive additional cash. Often homeowners use cash to eliminate higher-interest balances such as outstanding credit card accounts. You need to remember the money is drawn from your home equity and making a withdrawal will deplete your stake in the home investment. You need to think about improving your credit score where you can by paying off any credit cards and settling any loans you have outstanding, it will take time to improve your credit score, it can't be fixed in 24 hours. For a detailed picture of your finances, you need to request your credit scores from the three bureaus and see where you stand. Check your accounts for possible inaccuracies or signals of identity theft. Your efforts to secure a bad credit loan will certainly increases when you can see what your lenders see, at least this way you can spot the problem areas and act on them where possible.