I am moving from my house soon and a neighbor friend of mine just asked if she could rent my house. I do not want to rent out my house, period, so I want to try to help her get a mortgage. She's down about it-she thinks she just can't get one, but she hasn't tried and I know that there's lots of help out there.

Can anyone help me help her? She doesn't have a lot of income, but one of her children is on SSI so I thought that might help her out a lot. She was worried about her credit but when she described it to me, I didn't think it was all that bad at all. I think she's just like a lot of people who think they can't and don't even try, I really want to help her do this. She's married with two kids.

I told her that when we bought the house, we had no money down and no/bad credit. I'm also not looking to make a ton of money on this, honestly I will be happy to just get rid of it. Our real estate values have gone up, not down like in a lot of places, so that is not an issue. My move is rather abrupt, I've got to get out of here quite soon, so it's perfectly fine with me to sell it to her for no profit. Otherwise I would probably be looking at being stuck here too long trying to sell it through the market. SO even if I make no money, or even lose just a little bit, it's OK because I need to get out and wash my hands of this place so it's worth it to me.

I just need to know of some resources that might be available to her, being of lower income and having a disabled child. Thanks for any help!

First thing she needs to do is sit down with a mortgage loan specialist. They can run her credit and see just how "bad" it may be. Then they can advise her what options are available for her particular situation.

The reality is that with the economy as bad as it is, she will need to clean up her credit before she would even be considered for a loan. But the specialist can at least look at everything and help her.

OK, I will advise her to go forward and talk with a mortgage specialist. I just wanted to find out if there are any organizations or government programs that might be able to help her, just to give her more of an edge and more resources. She's just really down on herself and doesn't seem very hopeful so I really wanted to get her to see that it's possible if she tries!

Well the thing is, many of those resources are not available to people with outstanding debts. Almost all of them require that all past due accounts/loans be brought current before they will help you. I am not sure if this is the case with your friend because I don't know her. There are programs that offer lower rates for people that don't make much money but still they require a clean credit report.

Oh, OK. Well, she needs to apply first anyway to know where she stands... so I'll tell her to do that right away, and then I assume the mortgage specialist can advise her on what, if anything, she needs to clear up to make her eligible for anything. I just thought maybe the fact that she was of lower income and has a disabled child might automatically qualify her for at least SOME help.

She may qualify for help due to her special circumstances AFTER she gets any outstanding debts cleared. See, the idea is that the help should be available to people who are in a position to make the payments. The help is not meant to help someone dig themselves out of a poor financial situation.

So yes, her first step is to have a specialist run her credit to make recommendations and then she can see exactly what's on the report and dispute any discrepancies.

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See, the idea is that the help should be available to people who are in a position to make the payments. The help is not meant to help someone dig themselves out of a poor financial situation.

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Good point, I think she's kind of on that borderline in which she could use a hand but she needs to understand that she needs to really work hard to keep up her end of the bargain. She really does need help in getting the ball rolling though, she is kind of in a poor position-she doesn't have internet and she's just ignorant of a lot of things. I feel like if I could help her out that she could hopefully take this as a golden opportunity and improve her situation... I just sincerely hope she can maintain things.

Not to sound sad, but loans are a lot harder to get anywhere in the US, the high risk loans are just not happening right now. So her credit score will mean most of it, after that, if she has a relationship with a local bank that may know her personal it may be worth a try.

I would ask what area, since I am not aware of any area that has not been hurt at least slightly with the real estate market going down

She should qualify for the first time home buyer credit, so that can help. The next question is whether you need the money now or not. You may be able to do a sales contract or give her a mortgage that she pays you back.

I did entertain the thought of me personally helping her by making a situation where she would pay me monthly (onwer finance, I guess?) but I am moving 1700 miles away for one thing, and I DO NOT intend to come back here ever, I have NO ties to this area (no family anywhere near here)! I only came here because of the military, and I decided to stay just to try it out-but I just don't like it after all this time. So if I still owned this place, I'd be stuck for quite a long time with all this hanging over my head... which is something I just don't want!

Whatever happens here, I just don't want the OBLIGATION of owning the house to any degree, know what I mean? I'm willing to help her in ANY other way, just not by either renting her the house or by owner finance. I'm willing to take (far) less than I could get for it if I sold it through the market, that's no problem at all. That and anything else I can do, I'm willing. My only concern is that my ties and obligations are severed.

Fr Chuck, I live in OK. Our real estate values in my particular area have been unaffected, probably due to Fort Sill (HUGE military installation) and other gov agencies, the oil business and some other factors.