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5 Options for Investing in Real Estate With Bad Credit

Larry Alton
3 min read
5 Options for Investing in Real Estate With Bad Credit

Most people simply don’t have the liquid assets to buy investment properties in cash, which is why bank loans are traditionally used. However, for those with bad credit, a loan might not be an option. That doesn’t mean you’re out of luck, though.

Here Are 5 Options Worth Investigating

Every situation is unique. Depending on your exact credit score, the type of real estate you’re trying to invest in, and how many connections you have, your path to success will be unique. However, there are a few options everyone should look into.

1. Try to repair your credit.

Before considering buying a house, it’s essential to evaluate your financial situation and look into repairing your credit. Having the proper credit score needed to buy a house is one of the most critical factors when it comes to securing a mortgage. Therefore, it’s important to check your credit report for any mistakes or errors that could be negatively affecting your credit score. If you find any inaccuracies, you can dispute them with the credit bureau. You may also want to consider working with a credit repair company to help improve your credit score and increase your chances of getting approved for a mortgage.

“Keep in mind that an experienced and valuable credit repair company will help you not just to improve your credit report by making sure it reflects your accurate credit history, but helps you learn to make better credit decisions in the future,” Lexington Law explains. “This is not a short term fix, and it requires long-term attention to your financial future.”

Related: How to Choose the Smartest Credit Cards to Use for Your Spending Habits

Raising your credit score a few points might be enough to help you land a competitive loan for a real estate investment.

Poor credit score report with pen and keyboard

2. Form a partnership.

Assuming you can’t get your credit score up enough to qualify for a traditional loan, you have a few other options. One choice is to form a partnership with someone else. In this partnership, the other person brings the money—either via cash or loan—and you put in the work. The key in a partnership is to clearly outline roles ahead of time and to both do your part.

3. Use a hard money lender.

A hard money lender is simply a person or group that lends money of its own accord. Because they don’t have to adhere to regulations and corporate policies, they can choose to lend money to whomever they want. Typically, hard money lenders don’t care about credit scores. They analyze individual deals and want to make sure they get their money back in a timely fashion.

4. Crowdsource the funds.

Thanks to the power of the internet and social media, it’s possible to raise large amounts of money in a short period of time. One increasingly popular method of funding real estate deals is to crowdsource the funds.

With crowdsourcing, you create a “campaign” and then ask other people to invest money. Once the deal goes through and reaches certain stages, they then get a specific return on their money. Unlike a bank or hard money lender, where 100 percent of the money comes from a single source, you might have 50 or 100 different private lenders come together to fund a deal.

person holding house key with living room in background

Related: Does Your Credit Score Matter When You Invest in Real Estate?

5. Give wholesaling a shot.

If you really want to get creative, wholesaling might be a good option. It requires zero money but a lot of networking. With wholesaling, you find a seller who wants to get rid of his property but hasn’t yet listed it. You then go out and find a buyer and take a percentage of the sale price. It’s extremely challenging but can also be quite lucrative.

Don’t Take No for an Answer

At the end of the day, there’s always an option, even if you’re wondering how to buy a house with bad credit. If you study today’s most successful real estate investors, you’ll find that a large percentage of them started from nothing and simply found a way to get their foot in the door. You have to do the same. Don’t take no for an answer and creativity will follow.

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What other ways have you found feasible for investing with poor credit?

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Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.