I'm ready to buy, but my FICO says otherwise...

I have a bank that can do FHA new home purchase with scores above 530. Let me know if you would like to get into contact.Thanks.

Ben, you will have to buy as a investment, since it is in another state, or can your fiance qualify? and you could be a non occupant co borrower, until you move. if you do a FHA LOAN.. I have a underwriter contact that is out of the carolinas , and she is great with lower fico scores, email me at yourloanpartnerforlife@live.com linda for her information..

Ben you are very close. All you need is a 580 fico middle score to get an FHA loan. You can still qualify even if you are not living in the property as long as at least one other applicant will be living in the new home.

Until you have employment in SC you'll need to qualify for conventional loan (requires a 620 score) OR (as others suggested) be a co-signer for your fiance on a FHA loan. There are some lenders who say they can approve you with a score as low as 580 for FHA but in general you'll likely need to be at 600-620 or higher. As you know, cleaning up credit is much harder than not having a problem to begin with, and for someone who had a BK any kind of new credit problems is a BIG red flag - so you need to make sure you are never late on anything - ever. Most people I work with that have a scenario like you describe don't have enough positive, current credit to offset the old negative. It is important to have at least 2 open, active POSITIVE (no lates) credit. I have related blog on this site, or feel free to email me and I'll send you some recommendations. pdumouchel@primelending.com - and I'm in SC when you think you are ready to try one of the options mentioned.

PS. Another important factor in strengthening your credit profile is to keep any credit card balances below 30% (target 25% max) of the limit on the card. Paying them off every month is fine, but make sure to keep your balance below that 30% figure.

You have two issues going on, both resolvable. First, you will need to actually move to SC and get a job if you want (or need) to be on the mortgage. You will need to actually begin the job and have 30 days worth of paycheck stubs, so you may need to find a short-term rental.Regarding your credit scores... You didn't mention how low they were at the lowest point, so I hope you are seeing results from this company that you've been working with! Time is always your friend when it comes to improving your score. The time distance that you put between the bad reporting and the newer good payments is important.