A little two story bungalow by the beach... rows of wood planks that act as a boardwalk stretching towards the sea.. the view of a crimson sunset as I look through the kitchen window.. the soft crash of waves as they lull me to sleep at night.. a thousand stars sprinkled across the water, while the bar-b-cue fire lights up the patio...

Ok, so that's a little hard to find in Oklahoma, but I can still dream right?

Oklahoma isn't so bad...

If I only had a little piece of it to call my own.

So my question, how can a former beach bum transform himself into a refined home owner?

If you have an answer for that, I'll be astonished and amazed..

But first, if you don't mind my mindless prattle, and I'm sure there's a lot of that, if I may enlighten you with a brief history..

So there I was, living in a land of dreams.. of sunny beaches and warm weather, where sweaters were donned only when the temperature reached a chilly 68 degrees... when my carefree life of rogue wanderings and restless habits soon turned into a simile of that once great movie, "plains trains and automobiles".. I got divorced, decided to take my life savings (a couple hundred dollars), and set out across the USA..

After two years of aimless wanderings, I found myself in this land they call Oklahoma.. A place where cows run free and sometimes, for several months, you must don ice-skates to get to work and back.

Needless to say, my credit was shot, and so were my chances of ever owning a home.

I got remarried, and soon found myself in the endless cycle of work, sleep, pay bills, and.. yes.. more work.

My wife got sick.. I got sicker.. and we had to move in with the parents to survive..

By now, I'm really missing that salty piece of land.

I digress.

So here I am today.. My credit isn't perfect, but much better than it was. I think the weatherman would call it fair to partly cloudy, with a slight chance of hurricane.

I've been looking for options.. If the seas get stormy we need shelter from the storm..

Maybe someone who is far more intelligent than I can enlighten me.

I have found quite a few houses (I use that term loosely, maybe 'shanty' would be a more apt term?).. a few houses that are for sale that are under $20,000. Obviously 'fixer-uper-ins', (Oklahoma word?), but I have the ambition and desire to remodel.

So my question, what is the best way to get financing to puchase a home like this - Especially for one with not-so-great credit? I plan on using this as an investment, fix-er-up and reseller... How much would I need down? And advice would be greatly appreciated, and sure, I'll even save a salty drink for ya as well..

If I may pose another inquiry... or so..

Are there any other options for home-ownership out there? I have been suggested a few - buying land, manufactured housing, lease-purchase - but those options still pose the same problems I'm facing..

The way the housing market is right now, I can only pray for a solution, and maybe, just maybe, an opportunity will arise.

And so, now that my meaningless babble has resolved itself, I humbly sit back and await a reply..

Time to run.. got boats to build.