Credit cards are wonderfully convenient because if managed correctly you can haul them out to pay for just about anything you like. But does just about anything include a house? Can you buy a house with a credit card?
Yes, it is possible. A credit card can make buying a home easier because that is the thing with credit cards and credit histories. Lenders use them to see if you are responsible.
The Advantages of a Credit Card
You have got a world of shopping opportunities
Credits cards can be a blessing to you when you do not want to carry cash with you. With a credit card, you have a world of shopping opportunities online plus a lot of protection for your online purchases. In fact, these credit cards come with a number of built-in consumer protections such as rental car insurance, travel insurance and more.
Mortgage lenders do not accept credit card payments directly but if you are wondering can you buy a house with a credit card, the answer is certainly you can buy a house with a credit card by paying your mortgage through a processing service known as Plastiq.
However, paying your mortgage by means of a credit card does come with some restrictions. The Ts and Cs or terms and conditions do not allow you to use cards such as your American Express card or Visa to pay your mortgage through Plastiq. Other payment processors have come and gone and it is thought that Plastiq might not be around forever.
Credit cards come with perks and rewards
It is a great idea to buy big-ticket items on your credit card such as furniture or a refrigerator for instance. But can you buy a house with a credit card, particularly as there are some excellent credit cards that come with exclusive perks and rewards.
Many of the credit card companies offer extended warranties on their products. But how big can you go on your credit card? Can you buy a house with a credit card for instance? Are there people who actually have such massive credit that they can casually use it to buy a house?
Maybe there are people with long credit histories who have built up good credit scores and they have massive incomes who qualify for credit that can buy them a house. Can you buy a house with a credit card? You can but using a credit card will only get you so far in real estate and that is because there will be a credit limit.
Nonetheless, there is a lot you can do with the amount of credit you do have on your credit card. You can buy a rental property which is a good move because you are going to get a lot of money back with it.
Using a credit card to buy property is not always going to be a smart move though. You have to at least make sure that the rental income you bring in is not less than the interest your credit card charges you by using up all your credit to buy a house.
You can’t just pull out your credit card to buy a house because real estate closings need to be performed and they are held at a title company’s office. The buyer and the seller need to sign papers and transfer ownership of the house and transfer of funds.
Earn rewards with your credit card
Reasons why people might consider – can you buy a house with a credit card – is that they want to earn credit card rewards, to avoid foreclosure and to hold on to their cash and earn additional interest.
When people ask can you buy a house with a credit card, of course, they want to know about the rewards, after all, buying insurance and paying a deposit are huge purchases that must come with some kind of a reward.
Because of regulation, people can’t technically remit mortgage payments by credit card but there are ways that will answer the question can you use a credit card to make mortgage payments.
Using a credit card for the down payment or the mortgage payments may not be such a wonderful idea though because of the high transaction fees involved. So to answer the question can you buy a house with a credit card is yes, but there are always loopholes.
The fees could even outweigh the rewards. Those who have used their cards already say that can you buy a house with a credit card is not just a direct purchase but rather buying other home-buying expenses such as insurance, moving costs, attorneys and inspections.
The Role of your Credit History
Your credit rating
Your credit rating is going to be important if you want to buy or rent property. Credit bureaus use the information on your credit report to produce a credit score. Credit providers use this to work out whether they will lend you money. Can you buy a house with a credit card is possible in an indirect kind of way and your credit rating will need to be good if you want to purchase such large home-buying items.
Property buyers will require a mortgage loan advanced by a bank or other credit provider. If your credit score is not good, you will find it difficult to get a loan to buy the property you want. If they do decide to grant you a loan, a lower credit score means that credit providers will charge higher interest rates.
The important Balance on your Credit Cards
Lending institutions, when you want to know can you buy a house with a credit card, take into account different economic factors, and an important one that impacts your personal credit score is the balances on your credit cards. They want to see that you are using less than half of your balance.
Before applying for a mortgage you want to reduce your balances. Most lending institutions also do not want to see too many accounts and each card must be according to the balances they require. You need to check out how the balances on your credit cards relate to your income.
Mortgage lenders have strict requirements for the ratio of mortgage debt to income and total debt to income. You want to qualify in both areas otherwise mortgages may be difficult. Also, certainly, if you intend on buying a house, it is important to avoid adding any additional debt to what you already have. People can ruin their chances by accepting credit card offers and taking on yet another credit card.
A deposit
When it comes to taking out a loan to buy a house, lenders will require a deposit. The deposit amount is not the same as every house. It depends on the size of the home and its value but essentially it is about 20% of the loan amount. If you want to know can you buy a house with a credit card, you may not be able to buy the entire house at one time, but there are certain aspects you can pay for, like the deposit.
If you want to use your credit card to apply for a home loan, you are going to have to be careful in other regards as well. When applying for a loan, the lender will want to know if you have been living within your means so that you do not have trouble with making payments on your credit card. They do not want to see any missed payments.
They want to know that you can still afford the loan for house payments along with you still managing your other credit card debt. If they see any kind of financial stress, you would not get a home loan.
Probably the best way to use your credit card is to take a cash advance against the card. This is because you are likely to get a lower interest. The cash too will be in your bank account quickly.
You have to know credit cards
You have to know credit cards before you can just work with them successfully. A lack of knowledge can certainly end up costing you money. You want the best credit and you want information about them. They are tied to a credit account with a bank, which means that when you use the credit card you are ultimately borrowing money from the issuing bank.
Each of these credit cards has a credit limit and you can use your card till you have borrowed up to the credit limit. With regular kind of buying with a credit card, you can avoid interest charges by paying off your card’s full statement balance, but that is hardly possible when you buy a house.
When you buy a house with a credit card you want to know about all the benefits you can get with a credit card. Credit cards reward customers for making purchases and they also have built in purchase protection. With a credit card, you always want to be sure that you use the card in such a way that it improves your credit score. That means paying on time and watching your FICO score.
Credit cards make everything quicker
People who have already used a credit card to invest in real estate say that they would possibly recommend it because there are definitely advantages to it. Certainly, using a credit card can be a quicker process because there is not any mortgage approval to contend with and altogether less paperwork to complete.
If you want to buy a house with a credit card and you want to know what your credit limit will be, credit card issuers do not easily give away what the credit card limit is. You would not know what your credit limit is until after your card application gets approval. With good behavior with a credit card, you can get a credit card limit increase.
If you want a credit card with a high credit limit then premium rewards cards and business credit cards which are able to offer particularly high credit.
There are also cards that offer no pre-set spending limits. Cards that fall under this category are Amex branded cards like the American Express Gold card as an example. With regular cards you need to pay off your balance in full each month but Amex allows you to pay amounts off by means of their pay-over-tie program.
Conclusion
Getting a personal loan can be a more affordable way to finance a large purchase such as a house over a credit card. But there are exceptions and it is thought that in the long run, it is better to pay cash for large purchases.. Sometimes credit will however be a valuable safety net to help you with financial emergencies or to finance a big purchase.
Credit cards are convenient if you want to know -can you buy a house with a credit card – but in some cases, a personal loan may be a more sensible, affordable way to pay for a large purchase over time.
Can you buy a house with a credit card? When all is said and done, it turns out that there is essentially no better way to finance the buying of a house than with a traditional fixed-rate mortgage. The reason for this is that your interest rate is locked in for the duration of the mortgage.
So throughout your mortgage, your payments would not fluctuate, and if you want to you can attempt to pay the loan off earlier. There are loans where you do not have to provide a down payment, but it is a good idea to put down 20% if you can as doing this will allow you to avoid paying for mortgage insurance.
You can’t use a cash advance from your credit card for this as the lender does not want to see you taking on new debt prior to buying a house.
