 TITLE: Your Guide to Refinancing a Mortgage With Bad Credit CONTENT: How to Improve Your Credit to Qualify for a Mortgage Refinance\n--------------------------------------------------------------\nWhen you're considering refinancing a mortgage, there are multiple ways to get your application in the best shape possible—both in terms of your credit score and other factors.\n*   First, it's best if you can demonstrate that you have stable and sufficient income to cover your new mortgage payments. While lenders typically want to see that your debt payments do not exceed 36% of your monthly income, that limit could reach 50% in some circumstances. You may strengthen your candidacy for a refinance by paying down credit card or student loan balances before shopping for a new home loan to reduce your DTI.\n*   Your application will also benefit from your ability to show cash reserves. Experts recommend keeping an emergency fund of at least three to six months of your average expenses. While this can help you stay afloat in a crisis such as job loss, it also proves to lenders that you're able to establish and maintain a savings fund, which can cover mortgage payments in a pinch.\n*   You can also consider adding a cosigner to the refinance application, though it's important to make sure they understand they'll be required to make payments if you can't. The cosigner must also have strong enough credit to boost your approval odds. On the flip side, if you have a cosigner on your current mortgage and their credit score has fallen since you first got the loan, you could remove them and try to qualify for a refinance on your own.\n*   Finally, work on improving your credit, which can only help your chances of refinancing. This includes not only paying down balances, but putting bill payments on autopay so you never miss one. Particularly before applying for a home loan, avoid getting other types of new credit, which could result in a hard inquiry on your credit report. Hard inquiries negatively affect your credit score for a short time, but it might make enough of a difference to affect your approval chances or the interest rate you receive. END