Have you been through a bankruptcy? Think you’ll never qualify for credit again?
Well, don’t think like that … of course you’ll be able to get credit (you always will be)! How, you ask? Well, a number of banks offer “secured” credit cards, in which a debtor has to put up a certain amount of money (as little as $100 in some cases) into a separate account at the bank to guarantee payment. Usually the credit limit is equal to the security given, and is slowly increased as the debtor proves his or her credit-worthiness. Two years later, debtors are then eligible for mortgage loans on the same level as those with normal credit (who have never filed for bankruptcy).
The size of your down payment and the stability of your income is much more important than the fact you filed bankruptcy in the past! Although the fact that you filed for bankruptcy will stay on your credit report for 10 years, it will become much less significant the further in the past the bankruptcy date is.
Plus, you’re probably much less of a credit risk after your bankruptcy than before it, when you were struggling to pay all of your growing bills! This should give you some hope for the future. Good luck!
Tags: bankruptcy, Credit Cards, finance, money, rating, secured