When you have defaults on your credit history, it takes six years for these defaults to clear. After six years of building your low credit score by paying bills regularly, you can apply for a regular mortgage. If you currently can't find a mortgage lender and can't afford the down payment for the house of your dreams, consider waiting it out.
If you wait until your bad credit clears, you will also have time to save enough money for the down payment. For regular mortgages, you will need to keep just 5% to 10% of the down payment before a lender agrees to give you a loan. This is much easier than the 15% to 20% for default mortgages.





