New American Funding looks at every application manually before approving or denying a loan. Some online lenders approve or deny instantly based on computer algorithms, making it hard to get a loan with bad credit. This is not so at New American Funding.
Because each loan is manually reviewed, they may look at other factors such as good savings and a high income. Regardless of your finances, however, they do enforce a minimum 580 credit score for approval. Some lenders will offer a loan with a score down to 550 or 500 in some cases, but you probably won’t get the same quality experience as with New American Funding.
Once you’re approved, paying your mortgage on-time every month should help improve your credit score. Over time, you may even build a credit score high enough to refinance at a lower interest rate. But for now, New American Funding is a great place for low credit applicants to get started.
Best for Convenience : Reali
Unlike the other lenders on this list, Reali offers buying, selling, and lending service. So, you can do your home search from your couch using Reali’s app. The company connects you with local real estate agents in the area you want to buy.
You can visit the home in-person or do a virtual tour; you could buy a home without ever meeting your agent or seeing the house. And because Reali offers mortgages in addition to home listings, you could get your mortgage and buy your home all with one company. ? ?
Reali’s agents don’t take a commission for helping you buy your even though the seller may set aside a commission for the buying agent. Rather, Reali sends the commission to your bank account in the form of a non-taxable rebate. The average rebate is $12,000. ? ?
To be eligible for the rebate, the seller must set aside of enough of a buyer-agent commission to be at least 1.5% of the purchase price or $5,000, whichever is greater. ? ?
Citi’s HomeRun mortgage is focused on families that may not have the traditional 20% saved for a down payment, and who are looking for a reasonable mortgage payment to fit into limited income.
- No mortgage insurance
- Down payments can be as low as 3%
- You can include outside money and/or gifts in your down payment
Typically, lenders ily member helps pay for your down payment. But, in Citi’s case, they’ve created lending guidelines that make it possible for you to contribute just a third of the down payment.
In some cases, forgiving programs like this 
may charge higher interest rates. However, Citi claims that their HomeRun Mortgage has interest rates that compare to conventional mortgage rates.
Best Interest-Only Mortgages : Guaranteed Rate
With an interest-only loan, you can often make lower payments every month than with a traditional, conventional loan. But for that lower payment, you don’t make any progress on paying down the principle and building equity in your home. And, when the interest-only period ends, your mortgage payment balloons to a much higher amount. Therefore, interest-only loans are wise only in a specific set of circumstances:
- You plan to sell the home before the interest-only period ends
- You will experience a significant pay increase before your mortgage payment increases
- You’re a real estate investor ? ?
But if you do want to go down the interest-only mortgage path, Guaranteed Rate could be a good option. They typically offer mortgages with five to 10 years of interest-only payments. Not only do they offer interest-only mortgages, but they’re also a top-15 lender in the mortgage industry. ? ?? ? ?