Help! Where do we start?

[Anonymous]

Hi all,

I'm new to the boards and my husband and I are in the midst of saving for a down payment on home. We would really like to talk to someone and have them look over our credit reports, go over mortgage requirements, down payment needs, amount of loan we can afford etc. Who do we go to for this? Should we go to our local credit union? We don't want them to pull our credit just yet and would be fine bringing in our free yearly annual credit reports for them to base it off of for now. Any advice is greatly appreciated. We hope to be ready to apply towards the end of next year but want to get all of our ducks in a row first.

Thank you all!

[olive_oyl]

Hello!  Welcome to the forum!  I would say that it wouldn't hurt for the CU to pul your credit now.  They should be able to determine if you are eligible now or if not, they may be able to guide you in the right direction.  I ended up doing something similar.  I am using a mortgage broker and they have been very patient with me.

 Or you can ask here on the forums and people from all stages of this mortgage game will be able to give you some useful advice. Read this post Do I Qualify For a Mortgage? 

I hope that helps a little

[Anonymous]

Here's where I would start.  Add up all of your monthly installment loans and minimum credit card payments.  Divide that by your total GROSS income.  I believe they can lend up to 45% of your total gross income.  That should tell you what you can afford.  Keep in mind that is your total payment, not just principle and interest. 

I had a referral to a mortgage originator.  We went and met with her to make sure that we were pre-qualified (without pulling credit) for price that we were looking at.  Again, this is not a true prequalification and could only go off of the information that we provided.  It never hurts to go talk to someone!  

You know you credit situation and I would ask the originator what their requirements are.  I could go through them now (as the wife and I just bought another house) but it is a lot to cover lol.  Then use your best judgement to see if you meet their requirements before pulling credit and getting pre-approved.

Let us know how it goes!!

[Anonymous]

PNWlady is asking the mortgage protocols-

-pull the Fico credit reports from here

-shop for mortgage broker.  This will be a office that deals only in mortgages.  Ask a few local real estate agents who they use, ask friends who have recently bought houses.  When you have a guy lined up, bring in your CR from Fico and let him look over it.  That person can look over the report and advise what is good, and what needs to be fixed.  Keep in mind this is not a formal application, but will give a idea of what is available to you.

-Get up W2s, and latest pay stubs.  He/she can look over the debts reported in your CR and see what your ratios are going to be.  You can self do that, not hard, but his eyes are trained to see the little things.  He'll tell ya if its too high and how to fix it if it is.

-Gather up 1040s, and any IRS dealings you migh have last few years.  Employment verifications, which could mean a letter saying. "yeah he's been working here 7 years." In my case I sent a copy of my Govt PIV card that I have to have enter the front door and ID myself as fed employee.  I had to make a copy of my drivers liscense.   You're gonna need all that stuff later when you formally apply so might as well start gathering it up

-You might be asked to pay down CC debt, or like me, "go out and secure 2 more credit cards, use them but pay them off. Your lack of revolving credit is killing your score"  Best advice I ever received finance wise.   You could have myriad of things to do after this first consult, or you could have not much at all, the important thing is to put youself in a position to have success= an array of loan products with the best terms, and quick, easy approvals, to do that you need a plan.

-with credit scores tweaked, negatives dealt with (elminated or cleaned up to "best I can do with it right now.") you go back and make the formal app.

-The LO will tell you how much you can borrow.  You are now pre approved, so you go out shopping.

- look around for a good realtor.  She can help with the rest.  Once a home is picked you have whole new thread of stuff to do.  But this should get ya started.