If you are receiving unsolicited phone calls from an entity pretending to be ACCC (a trusted non-profit credit counseling agency), please be assured that ACCC’s policy is NEVER to contact you unless you’ve explicitly requested us to call you. Also be cautious of emails from an unusual or unfamiliar domain. ACCC’s domain extension is @consumercredit.com, and any emails using a different extension should be treated with suspicion.

×

ACCC’s Client Login allows current clients to access their program information, including the due date, program benefits, and other documents.

Select a Client Login below based on the service that you are currently enrolled in:

Debt Management Program

Client Login

Bankruptcy

Pre-Bankruptcy Client

Post-Bankruptcy Client

Not yet a client, but looking to get started?

ACCC offers debt relief options to individuals and families that are suffering from stress related to credit card debt by providing effective credit counseling, helping to consolidate debt, and advising on debt management.

Get Started

Wait!

You are now leaving the Consumer Credit website and are going to a website that is not operated by ACCC. We are not responsible for the content or availability of linked sites.

Are you sure you want to leave?

No, return me to the previous page.

Yes

Ready To Become A Homeowner?

Buying a house can be an overwhelming and intimidating process. First, you need to determine how much you can afford to spend, and prepare yourself for a long-term financial commitment to debt repayment. Becoming a homeowner affects a lot of different areas of your finances. Make sure you are up to speed with some much needed financial advice to get you ready to buy a home.

Avoid taking on too much debt as a homeowner.

Avoid taking on too much debt as a homeowner.

Advice for the Potential Homeowner

Focus on Your Credit Score

As soon as you starting thinking about becoming a homeowner, pull your credit report. Use all three credit reporting agencies as each reporting agency can have different information listed. Work with the agency to clear up any erroneous information. They can be in the form of a wrong address, social security number, etc.

Make sure you focus on making your credit score stronger. You want to have a score of 760 or higher so that you qualify for the lowest interest rates. Anything below you can still qualify, but it may not get the most favorable loan rate. If you are below a 660 you may still qualify, but you will pay more in interest. It can take 6 months to a year to clear up credit reports and start rebuilding your score. Keep this in mind as you begin thinking of your future home.

Take a Homebuyer Class

Many homebuyer classes are offered online or in person. It will save you time and energy you can’t get back. These classes can provide a thorough background of information; some programs also offer financial incentives for completing the course.

Prepare Your Budget

Once you have decided to buy and are working on improving your credit, look at cutting back on your current expenses. What can you live without? Where are you spending frivolously? Can you take that extra money and put it towards your down payment? Most of all, make sure you know where your limits are. Use the How Much House Can I Afford calculator to assess your finances.

Manage Your Debt

Pay down any outstanding debt you currently have. This includes credit cards and even loans, such as a car loan. Tackle your credit card debt as much as possible as quickly as possible. It can only help you to embrace the financial responsible you are about to have as a homeowner.

Save More!

Save, save, and save some more. The more money you are able to put down towards your mortgage loan, the better and more attractive you will look to a lender. Additionally, if you can put down more than 20 percent, you will not have to pay private mortgage insurance (PMI) which is required on conventional loans.

Position Yourself to be Credit Worthy

Furthermore, your credit worthiness is key in the homebuying process. You want to position yourself as a good risk to any lender that looks at your application.

If you’re struggling to pay off debt, ACCC can help. Schedule a free credit counseling session with us today. 

ABOUT AUTHOR / Dilini

Dilini is a Marketing Communications & Programs Associate at ACCC. To anyone, managing finances can be a real challenge! Any tips and tricks to help get through this are great! Dilini will share her experiences, tips, and tricks along the way through the Talking Cents blog. Stay tuned!

View all author posts →

creditU

Your Ultimate Money Management App

Meet CreditU, the ultimate one-stop debt and financial management app! See your full financial overview, including debts, income, expenses, and savings.

CreditU Apple App Store
Dev Tool:

Request: blog/ready-to-become-a-homeowner
Matched Rewrite Rule: blog/([^/]+)/?$
Matched Rewrite Query: post_type=post&name=ready-to-become-a-homeowner
Loaded Template: single.php