South Dakota Bad Credit Mortgage Lenders

South Dakota has always been the little brother of North Dakota. Both rural states, South Dakota has traditionally relied on agriculture as the basis of their economy. Although this is currently changing, as the state attracts non farming business and non-farmers alike, the majority of South Dakota’s economy is still tied to farms. As of the 2004 census, there were 342,620 homes or housing units in South Dakota. Of those, 300,629 were occupied, leaving nearly 42,000 homes available to buy or rent. For the prospective house buyer this is good news, as most of those 42,000 homes are likely to be on the market to be bought rather than rented. This is because South Dakota has a housing market which is geared primarily with the home buyer, rather than the home renter in mind. With 69.1% of the homes in South Dakota being owned rather than rented, compared with the national average of 67.1% provided by the 2004 census, what may seem like only a 2% margin of difference actually works out to be a large number in the real world. The larger proportion of home owners indicates a buyer focused housing market, and this can be largely beneficial to someone looking to buy a home.

However, there are pitfalls to be avoided. A buyer market can produce some very unsavory lending practices for those looking to get a mortgage to finance their home purchase. While few are affluent enough to buy their first home without borrowing, this practice often targets first time home buyers who are new to many of the terms and conditions involved in taking out a mortgage.

Therefore, people who are looking to buy their first home in South Dakota should consult a fair housing service to make sure the deal they are getting is a good one, and that the credit and lending institutions are not predatory or taking unfair advantage of them. One such fair housing service is the “Fair Housing of the Dakotas”. They operate in both North and South Dakota and they “work to eliminate housing discrimination and to ensure equal housing opportunities for all.  The FHD provides assistance to individuals pursuing legal rights and a remedy related to fair housing, offers housing assistance and counseling, provides community education, promotes community involvement and performs research in the area of housing.”

With that in mind, buying a home in South Dakota should be no problem at all.