I'm 30 years old. I started a business when I was in college at age 21, I've been busting my tail with that the last decade.

I recently sold the business and now I have liquid cash. My credit is horrible, 520. I've made some many mistake over the years, stuff like moving and not paying cable bills etc.

I want to buy a home now and I have cash but horrible credit. I've been told NOT to pay off those old accounts b/c it will make things worse.

Do those credit repaid programs work or are they a scam? I've called many and they want money up front and seem really shady.

If you could give me some advice I would REALLY appreciate it.

You're going to have to get your credit score at a minimum in the high 600's to qualify for any mortgage.

The only way to get your credit score back on par is to pay off the bills, don't close any credit cards but do pay credit card bills each month, never use more than 30% of your limit on each card, have a low debt to income ratio, and wait for time to heal.

I seriously don't believe any credit repair company works. They'll probably tell you exactly what I'm telling you. Just start researching online for how to improve your credit score for other ideas (most will be repetitive because there's only a few ways to get your score back up (see paragraph No. 2); but, no, I don't think you need them and I think they are a scam. People will fall for anything that sounds too good to be true.

thank you so much for taking the time to reply. Currently I have no credit cards and have trouble getting them , so it will be hard to build credit:(

my score is 560, i think i posted 520.

I recently sold my business, if I put down like 30% is there a way to get financed? I have about 200k set aside for a down payment. (only b/c i just sold my company)

I'm not looking to buy like today but had hoped this summer I could buy something.

Yes if you have a good credit eraser.

I had a crapton of college derogatories. We used to farm deals to HTDI Financial in my loan days out when they were too subprime for subprime.

They were kind enough 4 years ago to do a 6 month credit fix dispute cycle for me at no charge as a gift for the biz we sent them. They erased alot of old legit stuff (a court judgement for like 2,000 when i was in college in indianapolis from a apartment complex i broke a lease with) and did some amazing stuff wiping out old derogatories that were dead debt but still on the report. My fico went up about 80 points.

I can recommend them because they did a good job for me. I have no economic interest in their company... i was just a satisfied client. many times as they dispute items back and forth they can knock off alot of old written off debt... current collections are tougher if not impossible, but they can screw with them in various ways for it to affect the way its reported.

http://www.htdifinancial.com/

Also you should get a few $300 secured credit cards from Capital One. You only buy gas once a week on each of them once a month and then pay everything off 100% before the due date.

With 3 active tradelines you can convert them from secure cards (you pay $200 to secure them) to actual revolving credit cards after 12 months of good standing and payment history... now you have 3 paid on time trade lines for a 12 month period. Add a cell phone from a major company that reports and you have 4. Wait another 12 months and you magically qualify for FHA and other goodies.

http://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit-c...dit-card-1.aspx

I used to be a loan officer and a branch manager of a mortgage company. If you have any questions about how credit works or how to play with the system just ask.

Credit repair is a scam. Credit scores are also a scam. Since you have cash your solution is simple. First pay off the old debts, you are morally responsible for paying them. Then, if you still have the cash, buy the house for cash. No mortgage, no credit problem. I am assuming you will be working, so make payments to yourself equal to a standard payment. Then in a few years you can sell this house and move up a level. By then any credit problems will be over.

i had a positive experience with it.

With that kind of cash you can get a private seller/investor to hold the note.

The issue will be the interest rate WILL NOT be anything close to FHA.If an investor is financing the note they will want a higher interest rate to get a solid return.

This is the first mistake buyers with credit problems make.They assume with bad credit they might pay only 1 percent higher rate.Investors with cash holding a note will want 7 or 8 percent or more.

You can dispute your items on the credit report and if they don't respond with proof it will be removed in 30 to 45 days.

I would take your cash and do some multifamily rehabs using a hard money lender.Then sell that off for a big profit and 1031 exchange into another property or you can keep it and refi out the apartment complex into a regular loan.

Take that and buy your house with cash and still have an investment cash flowing for you.

As super realtor said, start thinking differently from that 20% down and a bank loan. Many homes can be taken over subject to. Others may be something that really appeals to you and you can lease option it while you repair your credit. Plus there is always seller financing. Hit the library.

There are many good sites that give good free credit repair advice, sorry I gave the list to a deadbeat and they treated it like a payable bill and tossed it, that what I get for not making a copy. Try google.

Don't 'ya just love that...when a deadbeat takes whatever you've given them to try your best to help them and they just toss it out like trash...goes hand in hand, I guess.