Hi Alicia,
I noticed it has been some time since you posted this question. Things change in just a few months. We may have options for you. We do owner finance lease to own options and also properties that you may qualify for with regular lending. Please visit our site at ClickYourMouseSellYourHouse.com. The link below is to the page with our available properties. From our site you can contact us by email, or call Pam direct at 254-715-5457 and tell her Bonnie gave you her direct number to call. Yes, there is hope and we want to be your home buying solution!

Lease option may be a solution but you'll most likely need a large deposit.. Also, a lot of hard money lenders have taken back properties and may offer seller financing with a one year balloon. This would give you time to start clearing up your credit.

Hi Alicia,
While it is true that FHA guidelines themselves do not impose a minimum credit score requirement, lenders themselves have instituted minimum score requirements to shield themselves from potentially risky loans. The score requirement may vary from lender to lender, however the minimum I have seen is 580.

FHA underwriters are instructed to pay attention not so much to the credit scores but the "how and why" behind those scores. So while a high credit score does not in and of itself guarantee approval, neither does a low score mean you can't or won't be approved. If you've kept your nose relatively clean the last 12 mos (no late payments or non-medical collection account) this should reflect in your credit scores at some point and you should be OK

Best of luck to you

While FHA allows mortgages down to 500, the lenders have upped that to 620.
Are you working on the credit yourself? Or paying for the service?
Do you have any credit card debt? Paying that down will give a good score boost.
Paying off old collections may hurt more than help.

Do you have a down payment? FHA is not credit driven and requires a down payment of only 3.5%($3500-$5250 in your price range) VA & Rural Development have 100% financing but their credit requirements are much more stringent. Conventional loan would require at least 20% down & good credit rating. Your best option would be to sit down with a reputable local mortgage lender & discuss your options.