If you have less than perfect credit, or have fallen behind on a few of your loan payments, you can still own your home. Getting a loan with spotty credit or as a self-employed person with unproveable income used to be difficult. But, Full Spectrum Lending, the retail sub-prime lending arm of Countrywide® has just made it easy to not only qualify for a loan, but to repair your credit at the same time.

The Credit Repair Mortgage is an innovative product which offers the stability of a fixed rate loan for the first two or three years of the loan. During this time, you can begin restoring your credit. At the end of the fixed-rate period, you may qualify for a conventional mortgage at a lower rate. If your credit is not restored, you can continue with the Credit Repair Mortgage at a competitive adjustable interest rate for the remainder of the loan's term.

Who is eligible for a credit repair mortgage? The credit repair mortgage is available to any customers wanting a loan to buy a home or to use as a refinancing product on loans they may already have. If your credit rating has dropped due to such factors as slow payments or non-payments or disputes, or if you are self-employed with an inability to document income, you may be eligible for a credit repair mortgage.

By logging on to the Full Spectrum Lending Web site, you can get straightforward information about Credit Repair Mortgages and many other loan products. The Refinance Calculator, which can be accessed through the Personal Loan Advisor section of the Web site, allows you to calculate the amount you can borrow and determine your monthly payments, all from the privacy of your own home.

Credit Repair Mortgages are an attractive option for homeowners or prospective home buyers who have "maxed-out" credit cards or experienced financial hardships resulting from job loss, divorce or illness. Up-front costs are minimal and borrowers can rely on a set amount to help them budget on-going expenses.

The Full Spectrum Lending Web site offers many other loan products designed specifically for borrowers with less-than-perfect credit. Fixed- and adjustable-rate mortgages are available along with home equity loans. Web site visitors can:

• Calculate interest rates
• Match their credit situation with the most cost-efficient loan product
• Pre-qualify for a home loan
• Obtain an estimated monthly mortgage payment
• Determine the amount of equity in their home

"At Countrywide, we made a decision to take care of our customers. As a traditional A shop, we had a lot of people come to us and we couldn't help them. We had to turn those people away, says Joe Harvey, president of Full Spectrum. "In 1996 we decided to take care of all of our customers."

Harvey notes that Countrywide has millions of customers, many of whom are unaware that their credit has been damaged by such things as late fees on installments. Other customers have experienced hard times due to illness or job loss. Some customers have simply failed to take care of their credit, and would like an opportunity to repair the damage done. For whatever the reason, if they no longer meet "A" paper lender guidelines, they can't qualify for an agency loan insured by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. That puts them into the sub-prime category.

The Credit Repair Mortgage offers a chance to reverse a downward spiral, whether you want a new home loan, or you need to pay off some debts and roll it into your loan.

"It's not the same as refinancing," explains Harvey. "If someone has had some credit challenges through circumstances, or their own negligence, we can pay off creditors, and we take that person and put them in a credit repair mortgage product. We tell them to keep their nose clean, and they could qualify for a lower rate fixed rate loan in a couple of years."

"We want people to understand that they can get it going the right way."

Published: April 7, 1999

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