<prompt> Human: Apartments in my area are really expensive and payments on a house including utilities and taxes are often equal to or cheaper. Not to mention the fact that you get to own the house. My credit is pretty bad and Ive been trying to fix it for the past couple years but its still not there yet. Buying a house is obviously a better option in my case but I dont think any places will finance me. I also need to handle all the up front costs. Im just looking for something slightly larger than my current apartment. Nothing crazy. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.  <response>: If you dont have the credit to get a loan, and dont have the cash to buy one outright, you arent ready to own a home. Get your finances in order which will clean your credit up then build your 3-6 month emergency fund. Then build up your 20 down payment. Then you are starting to get ready to buy a house. 