Q: I would like to purchase a house. I don’t have any money to put down and my credit is bad due to my ex-wife charging up a storm on our joint credit cards (and then not paying them off). Is there a way for me to purchase a house?

A: With the way the mortgage market is going these days, unless you have great credit and at least some cash for a down payment, it’ll be tough to buy a house right now.

I think you should spend the next year or so working on repairing your credit. Start making your payments on time and paying off any existing debt you have. Then, you can start to set aside some cash for a down payment.

The number of lenders (other than the VA) offering zero down payment loans at the moment is close to zero — especially to folks with bad credit, whatever the reason.

Sept. 26, 2007.