Looking at new construction in north Georgia. My husband, the sole income provider, has a FICO middle score of 608.

608 score is too low for just about any lender out there doing construction loans.. it's possible that by getting the recent medical collections removed, that your score would improve enough to get your financing, but it might not.. If your dealing with an experienced loan officer, most have access to the credit bureaus "What if" simulator. this allows the lender to simulate the removal of items from your credit report and have it rescored to see where your score could potentially go... if you can get your score increased enough to satisfy the lender, then you would take the next step by dealing directly with the hospital or collection agency.. most will allow a "Payment in Lieu of Deletion", this is where you agree to make payment, and they agree to remove the trade line from your credit report altogether. If you attempt this, you want to be sure the agreement is in writing prior to you giving them any funds.. They might try to convince you that showing "Paid Collection" is a huge improvement to your credit, when in fact his score probably wont change more than 5 points.. a paid collection has little to do with your credit score. the fact that an account went to collections is what drives your score down.. if you don't feel comfortable working with these collection agencies, then you might want to hire a credit repair company.. they know how to effectively deal with these companies.. but in any case, you should try to work on improving your credit before you jump into a new home... .. I'm a Broker here in Scottsdale AZ and I only lend in Arizona. If you or someone you know is looking for financing options, feel free to contact me or pass along my information. 480-287-5714 WilliamAcres.com

Are there any other issue with the credit that can be addressed? Either credit cards with high balances that can be paid down and then ask the companies to rescore. Or accounts that are being reported incorrectly?

His low score is going to cause issues... Contact a local mortgage broker. Let them review a full application and credit report. They will be able to direct you to options based on your personal situation to attempt to improve credit. Depending on what they see, they might be able to get the builder to accept you and start building while everything else gets fixed.

I would HOLD OFF and first work on improving your husband's credit score......there could be a few quick things you can do that will increase the score, contact a local Lender411 EXPERIENCED loan officer and they should be able to help you review the credit and get you best terms on Construction financing or mortgage on newly built home. There is a significant difference in rate and fees between a 608 score and 640 score so it is definitely worth you taking an additional month to increase your husband's score before finalizing terms. Good Luck!

Unfortunatly, you are probably going to need to wait until HIS scores rebound. You should consider working with a company the specializes in credit repair. They may be able to give you the 30-40 point increase you need in 30-60days. I have a company that I have referred some of my clients to and they ahave a good reocrd of success. Let me know if you need the compnay and contact information.

Credit scores are a very serious concern for a lender. Work on improvement of his scores.

I am a bit confused the banner says your score is 608 and you say it is just shy of 700. Did you mean 680? If so 680 in some places can get you a construction loan. Shop around dont check just one lender. If you have to resort to credit cleanup check with the loan officer, AN EXPERIENCED ONE, and make sure he knows what he is doing or that he can refer you to a reputable credit repair agence. However be vary careful with them.

I am surprised that the Hospital and collection agency say there is nothing they can do. Get some funds together and go back to the collection agency and offer to settle the accounts. Your local lender can advise you as to what percentage is likely to be accepted - so you can clear those. He can also discuss what is known as a "rapid rescore" and how much can be done in that way to get your husband's score up past 640.

I can do the construction permanent loan . The score is too low for construction loan. But if the builder can get the loan to build, I can do the permanent loan to pay off the builder. Call me at 478-330-6352

I might be able to assist you with that. Please call me for more details at 678-455-0797.