Credit/financing

[speak]

I'm 23 years old and I got a new car in 2008. My Dad & I financed it through a bank to build my credit. Well, after my Dad passed away a couple years ago and I had to handle more and more bills my credit is not good..at all! However, I only have a year left to pay on this vehicle and I was wondering...if I needed to finance another car after this one is paid off, would the credit union I pay my car for allow that since I paid them off?

[Miss Firecracker]

You shouldn't need another car for a very long time if you are properly maintaining the one you have. Work on fixing that score!

[speak]

Okay, well what about a mortgage? I need a house too. Maybe within five years I want to buy. Would the bank let me?

[Miss Firecracker]

That depends on a lot of things. Do you have any idea what it costs to maintain a house?

[badcat3]

Did you have many late or missed payments? I'm guessing you probably could get another loan (especially personal or auto), but if your credit score is below the desired range, you will get a high APR. In the meantime, you should keep paying off your car loan and any credit card payments on time in order to build your credit score. Saving money will also help you as mortgage lenders look at how much money you have in the bank.

[Jetta]

You can build your credit so you would be able to buy in about 5 years. But you do need to take the necessary steps to make that happen and that includes what you've been told about repaying your credit card debt, and paying off your car loan. I came from a bankruptcy in 2007 and my credit score is over 700 now. I have worked to rebuild it and have more to do but clearing credit takes time but can be done.