A couple of suggestions. First, make an appointment with RBC and feel the situation out with them. If your debt to income ratios will work, they are probably your best bet. In a "feeling it out" scenario and "asking for advice", you will probably be able to get them to do a soft inquiry on your bureau, which will not affect your score, and they should be able to work with you from there.

Otherwise, you will need to deal with a mortgage broker. Getting a score approaching 650 will make it considerably easier for them to get you a prime loan, but call some and ask them. With a mortgage broker, you will need to run your own Transunion and Equifax scores and bureaus and take them in with you. They should be able to feel out your contacts and give you a rough idea whether they can help you or not.

A quick fix for your credit score... if you're carrying a balance of more than 30% on your card, pay it off first. Paying off your card will boost your score in 30 days.

Unfortunately the US credit crunch is hurting the ability of marginal people in Canada to get credit as well, so it will likely be more difficult for you than it was for me.

Sorry to dig up an old thread, but it has been over a year since I have posted my question. To answer the question, my score is 633 and rising every couple of months. I have a credit card and pay all debts on time every month. I have a good chunk of money invested in RRSP's with RBC, and do a bi-weekly payment with them from my savings account.

We have been starting to look at homes now, but I don't want to start "looking" for credit if I don't have to yet, I don't want it to hurt my already low score which I am trying to improve.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

That isn't a whole lot of info to go on. How weak, exactly, is your score? The fact that you have paid off all the debts is good.

Have you pulled your score yet? That is a good place to start. Generally speaking you must have a score of over 600 to get a mortgage, and over 620 is better. If you have a good relationship with your bank, that is a good place to start. If you have any investments with a bank, you can start there as well.

Royal Bank, for instance, looks considerably more favourably on you if you have investments with them, so if you don't, now might be a good time to start an RRSP with them. Then apply for a credit card. Credit unions are another good bet.

Once you have pulled your score, you can contact a mortgage broker and ask them what they think. They tend to have good working relationships with their lenders and their lenders will usually give your side of the story more credence if it comes from the broker... but don't go to a "pay up front" broker whatever you do! The mortgage broker's incentive to work for you is the commission they receive if they are successful. If you have already paid them, there is no incentive for them to work... and they're more likely scam artists looking to profit off your desperation.

Yes... Melanie McLister from that site has given some of our readers valuable information regarding mortgages...

I am going to ask Melanie if she wants to do a phone cast so that we can get a q&a session of mortage information.

Hi logidev, this might be a starting point to look at, http://www.canadianmortgagetrends.com/canadian_mortgage_trends/2007/08/no-income-no-cr.html .

I'm not sure how great the interest rates will be that you can get though. If you don't have much luck finding the rates you want, you might want to just wait it out another year - save some money, keep paying your debts regularly - this will give you a better down payment and possibly a better rate due to a better credit score and due to having some money saved.

Not sure if this is the right section of the forum but here goes...

I am looking at getting a mortgage as I am sick and tired of renting and paying for "someone else's" mortgage. Are there any options available for those who's credit is not the greatest in the world? I have since paid off all debts that were on my credit rating. I just need to find a place that can offer a realistic interest rate, but still be willing to take a "risk" with a person in my situation.

Thanks,