Should I buy a house right now or pay off credits cards?

I live in Mobile, AL where the housing market is about to take off due to new jobs coming to the area. We are not first time buyers but we do not currently own (we are renting a house). We have approx. $10,000 in credit card debt but we still make enough that we could qualify for a good home. Is it smarter to stay where we are and pay all credit off to let our credit score go up? Or would it be smart to go ahead and buy before property prices go up? My thought is that if property goes up and we already own we could take out a home equity loan to pay off all of our debt and maybe pay it off faster then we could while we are still renting. What do you think?

Should I buy a house right now or pay off credits cards?

pay off the cards first. It will be the best thing in the long run.

Should I buy a house right now or pay off credits cards?

If you can, Buying a house now will create wealth better. Particularly now since you%26#039;ll have the pick of houses and they are at thier lowest value now. good intrest rates too!

Should I buy a house right now or pay off credits cards?

Pay your debt first. Lenders take into account your debt-to-income ratio and if you are carrying a high balance on your credit cards, that will put you at risk for not getting the loan to buy the house.

Or, pay half the debt, then start looking. The worst scenario is you purchase a house with a $10k debt and you can never pull yourself out of it.

Save the 20% interest on your credit card debt and pay it off.

Should I buy a house right now or pay off credits cards?

Pay off your credit cards, pay down your bills. Improve your credit. Save for down payment. You aren%26#039;t ready to buy now. Property values aren%26#039;t going to rise that quickly. Improving your credit and lowering your debt will entitle you to better loan terms, lower interest rate and save you tons of money over time. Market is still not bottomed out yet, so there%26#039;s time.

Should I buy a house right now or pay off credits cards?

Meg is right.

The best thing you can do is pay off your credit card debt.

This will help you earn a lower interest rate and will make you a more %26quot;attractive%26quot; customer to a lender.

Also, reducing your credit card debt will leave you more money available to handle a higher mortgage or a more expensive home.

Sure, paying off your credit cards may reduce your savings or the amount you have to put down, but it will only make you stronger financially down the road.

Should I buy a house right now or pay off credits cards?

it would b better to pay ur credit cards first. because if u get a house and u r already in debt u r going to be even more.

Should I buy a house right now or pay off credits cards?

pay off the cards first!!!

Should I buy a house right now or pay off credits cards?

Pay off debt first.

Should I buy a house right now or pay off credits cards?

Pay off the debt and save for a downpayment first.

When home prices go up, the homes you are looking for will increase in price 5-10 thousand dollars.

But, going into a purchase with a down payment, and no other debt, will get you a better interest rate -- saving you lots more in the long run. Short term you can avoid a second-mortgage (higher rate) and PMI (higher rate).

While you rent, look for other ways to cut expenses and get your credit rating squeaky clean. This is the time to review your report, and challenge negative information. The inquiries will be off your history before the lenders run it next year.

As a home-owner, you need to have some equity in the house in order to borrow against it (equity loan). So, you%26#039;d have to be in the house for a couple of years to be able to borrow. See all the interest you waste in the meantime? With a mortgage and debt, even the equity loan will have higher interest.

Should I buy a house right now or pay off credits cards?

I%26#039;ve heard (and this may vary from state to state) that if you haven%26#039;t owned a home in the last 3 years you can qualify for a %26quot;first time homebuyers%26quot; loan (ask your bank or a realtor about your options--you may have more options than you think). If this is the case, it may be a good idea for you to buy your house now before prices go up and while rates are low.

However, I DO think you should pay off as much of your credit card debt as you can before then. Don%26#039;t spend all your savings on paying them off, but cut out %26quot;movie night%26quot; or whatever extras you don%26#039;t absolutely NEED and put all that extra towards your debt. I%26#039;d also cut those cards up so that you don%26#039;t use them any more to rack up debt.

Hope that helps you make the best decision for you and yours!

Should I buy a house right now or pay off credits cards?

I think you should pay off the credit cards. Your probably paying 14% or more on the card debt. Do you expect the real estate market in Mobile to go up higher than 14% in the next year? One forecast I just looked up called for a 4.4% rise. I would pay off the debt then start to save as much as possible to get back into the real estate market. At that point, you should consider buying property that needs some tlc (nothing major just paint and freshening up). Do the work then flip it.

Should I buy a house right now or pay off credits cards?

Sometimes the lender will require that the credit cards be paid at the time of the closing. Depends on the lender.

Should I buy a house right now or pay off credits cards?

According to my research Houses in Mobile AL is at the highest they%26#039;ve ever been in the last 10 Years.

The current average price for a home in Mobile Al is $150,000 which is 50% below the US Average. They may be facing a bubble which is about to burst.

Currently there are over 1200 foreclosed / bank owned properties in Mobile alabama Also so.

Analysts are predicting a market Drop. http://www.housingpredictor.com/alabama....

A new company in a city wont always increase property value, sometimes it can cause it to decrease. While new companies bring new jobs they usually bring pollution; Noise, Trash, Traffic, Crime. ect.

Conclusion.

Accellerate your credit card payment, and search for your house. No need for urgency because of a %26quot;New company%26quot; moving in.

Put all your credit cards in order of pay off time. and put the ones that you can pay off the fastest at the top of the priority.

pay the minimum balance on all others exept the top credit card. But increase the amount paid to the top about 20% or more. keep doing this while you are looking for a house

and pay off your easiest credit card. When you pay it off, Keep it open (DONT CLOSE OR USE IT. CUT IT UP)

Whenever you pay off your top priority credit card apply the freed up funds to the second and keep going until you pay down or off your credit cards.

While you are doing this you can take your time to look at houses with your current pre approval. Be very picky, find your dream house and negotiate the price of the house. (Since you are not in a rush to buy).

A house search and purchase process can take anywhere from 3 - 12 months by the end of which you would have done your home search, improved your debt to income ratio and ready to revisit your mortgage application for a new interest rate before you purchase.

Should I buy a house right now or pay off credits cards?

Housing prices are extremely artificially inflated right now; pay off your debt and start saving, while the housing market corrects itself. Remember all of those ARMs issued in 2005 and 2006 which will come to term later this year and into 2009, making even more of a mess in this market.

Should I buy a house right now or pay off credits cards?

Pay off the credit cards.

Property prices are UNLIKELY to go up anytime soon, anywhere in the country.

It takes years for property to start appreciating again, and it will do so slowly.

You have plenty of time to buy.

Should I buy a house right now or pay off credits cards?

Hi,

I used %26quot;Credit Solution%26quot; to settle my debt and improve my credit score.They managed to reduce my debt up to 58%.It%26#039;s legitimate.I came across this company on NBC News Special Edition.Check it out here:

http://nanoref.com/linksynerg/veJ1gg