It used to be that home ownership was reserved for those with near perfect credit but with the vast array of financial products offered by lenders nowadays those days are a thing of the past.  Now virtually everyone with a steady income can buy a home even if your credit is less then perfect.  There are also many qualified professionals who specialize in helping people repair their credit and qualify for home loans.

If you have credit problems the first thing many people do is to start paying off old bills.  While this may be the most responsible thing to do, it may not be your best course of action when trying to qualify for a mortgage.  By making payments on these old debts you are essentially waking a sleeping giant.  If these charges are more then 2 years old they may be able to removed from your credit report under the fair credit reporting act.  Consulting a professional will help you to best determine how to proceed and what can be removed from your report and what debts must be paid.

You can start the process of reviewing and if need be repairing your credit by requesting your credit report.  You can find many sites online which will assist you in obtaining your credit score free of charge.  Many of these sites also allow you to continue to monitor any changes to your credit report for a low monthly fee.  This is a service that can be invaluable as you go through the process of repairing your credit allowing you to watch your score skyrocket in response to your efforts.