The type of credit history you have determines a lot of things in your life: the most important of which is the type of home mortgage loan that you qualify for. Most people conscientiously spend months or even years building up a solid credit history so that they qualify for the best possible mortgage loan. But what happens if you’ve got a bankruptcy or previous foreclosure in your history, or bad credit for some other reason? Then you’ll definitely need to look into bad credit home loans.

Bad credit home loans are loans designed for buyers with low credit scores, typically below 620. At this threshold it’s not impossible to get a loan, but it’s decidedly more difficult. Traditional lenders who don’t offer special bad credit home loans may not approve you for a loan. But special poor credit mortgage loans are an option. Traditionally they carry a higher interest rate than the average loan, mitigating the lender’s risk. Even if you’re a very dependable person who would never dream of defaulting on your monthly mortgage payments, lenders generally see a low credit score as an indication that lending to you may be risky for them.

In most cases, it certainly is. Owning a home is the biggest asset that you will ever have in life. Unlike other major purchases like furniture, appliances, or cars, a house is guaranteed to appreciate in value. Renting really is just throwing money out the window, whereas home ownership is like putting monthly deposits in the bank over a period of 30 years. If you can afford to make mortgage payments, then it’s always a smart move to own a home. The interest rates may be high, but you can work on improving your credit over the next several years and see if you qualify for a more cost-effective refinance.

Of course a credit score is an all-important number when you’re buying a home, and there’s no such thing as a no-credit-check mortgage. But having poor credit history doesn’t have to prevent you from home ownership. There are special loans for even those who don’t qualify for traditional loans because of their credit. The best thing to do is ask around with several lenders about bad credit mortgage loans in specific to see what they have to offer.