If you’ve ever shopped for a loan or mortgage, you know how much of a difference your credit score can make. Higher scores can help qualify you for better terms, lower interest rates and special funding only offered to low-risk borrowers. However, nobody’s credit is perfect, and bad credit can take a long time to improve. If you’re interested in flipping houses but have bad credit, there are plenty of funding options available to help get you started.
Here are the best ways to get funding to flip regardless of your credit score:
Private Loans
If you have bad credit, a private lender might be a good option for funding a flip. The major reason to consider a private loan is that they come from sources who don’t follow the same rules and criteria as traditional financial institutions. Therefore, they might not weigh a credit score as heavily—some may not require a check at all. Because every private lender is different, it’s crucial to research the options carefully, so make sure you can still work within their custom requirements.
Home Equity
You can borrow against the equity of your current home to fund a new purchase. This includes cash-out refinancing, home equity lines of credit and home equity loans. The first option means you would refinance your current mortgage and keep the difference between the loans as cash. Home equity lines of credit work like credit cards to offer you money up front that’s borrowed against home equity. Home equity loans are like traditional mortgages, but use your property as collateral.
Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is an excellent way to gather financing for a project from multiple sources, none of which require a high credit score. By using one of the major online crowdfunding platforms, you can set up a fund for your fix-and-flip purchase through contributions from people all over the world. Crowdfunding is the most flexible option but also requires some marketing savvy to be successful. If you’re willing to put in the work, this is an excellent option for financing your project regardless of credit.
While your credit score matters in many financial situations, there are ways to achieve your goals without a high score. No matter what kind of credit you have, these three options are great to consider for funding your flip.
About the Author
Kyung Kim
Hi, I'm Kyung Kim. I immigrated from South Korea to the United States in 1968 when I was 7 years old. I have seen my mom struggle with the English language and work hard to raise her four kids by herself. Still to this day, I don't know how she pulled it off, but she bought her first home in 1979 for $70,000 and because of that decision, she was able to live without worrying about her financial future. I want that for everyone, to feel the pride of home ownership and to build their financial wealth using real estate as part of their financial portfolio. I feel so blessed to play a small role in helping others reach this goal.
I live in Beaverton with my husband, Richard. My mom, who lived with us for several years, passed away in our home in February 2022. Her first home purchase in 1979 made it possible for her to live to the very end, without worrying about her finances. As of August 2022 with a little downpayment assistance, our four children own their own homes. Being in real estate, I quickly realized that if they didn't buy now, they may be priced out of the market in the future. Whether that would have been the case, we will never know, but what we do know is that they are all realizing some good, healthy appreciation in their home values.
As passionate as I am about people owning their homes, I'm also passionate about giving back to our community. I support Compassion First, a non-profit organization that provides aftercare for sex trafficked girls in Indonesia. My husband and I also feel called to financially support social injustice organizations.
I'd love to assist you. Whether you're in the research phase at the beginning of your real estate search or you know exactly what you're looking for, you'll benefit from having a real estate professional by your side. I'd be honored to put my real estate experience to work for you.
