While you might be in a tough spot, with financial woes and credit agencies at your heels, there is light at the end of the tunnel. And it might just come in the form of a bad credit mortgage.

Or, you might have "bad credit" because you just haven't had any credit in the past. If you've never had a loan or a credit card you will have a low credit score. A bad credit mortgage might also be for you.

What's a bad credit mortgage? It's a chance to establish credit if you don't have any and can't wait. It's a second chance if you have already had credit and done a bad job. If you already own a home it can also be about refinancing.

Regardless of why you are in this situation, if you have bad credit you will need to find a mortgage lender that will work with you. That lender will understand that bad credit can happen and often there is a good explanation.

In effect, a bad credit mortgage can give you the opportunity to:

• Establish or clean up your credit
• Get some relief from high interest debt
• Consolidate existing bills into one monthly payment
• Get relief from current creditors by paying them off
• Get extra cash for extensive home repairs, or emergencies
• Leverage you out of a possible bankruptcy