Not ready yet...

[Anonymous]

I am getting my credit in shape and wish to purchase a home next year. I want to get an idea of what may hurt my chances, so can I have my credit pulled now to see if I need more work on my credit? I would like to know where my scores stand and what to watch out for. My plan is to get an FHA loan as I need to be in the 3.5 - 5% range for downpayment. I did have a bankruptcy filed and discharged in 2002, but that should drop off early next year. My score in the sig are from myfico.com. I will be dropping my card utilization from 70% to less than 10% in the next two weeks, so that should boost the scores a little more.

[ShanetheMortgageMan]

Will need to know more about your situation.  See what is all needed at Help the FICO Forums help you

[Anonymous]

Thanks Shane. I am pretty familiar with thew basics, but what I really wanted to know is - is it advisable to get with a mortgage professional now and go thru the pre-approval process? I'm not ready to buy yet, but I would like to have them pull credit and see what my actual situation is and where it can be improved over the next year. Also, the hard pull won't really be an issue and shouldn't affect me as much later. Basically, I would like to create the relationship and work with someone until i am ready to purchase.

[ShanetheMortgageMan]

Yes it's certainly possible to do what you have proposed.  You may have to pay for the initial credit check but as long as you've found a loan officer who has been around for awhile, then it's realistic to expect that after they give you guidance they'll be there to provide you further feedback along your journey.  Finding that loan officer may be tough though, as most aren't willing to help someone who isn't looking to buy right away... but the type of loan officer you are looking for is certainly out there, ask family/friends/co-workers for referrals and odds are the loan officer you are looking for will be one of them.

[Anonymous]

Thanks again! I will start to look around and see who is willing to work with me over the long haul. Paying for the credit report wouldn't be an issue and it may be better to get that hard pull now so it affects me less later. Who knows, I may find out I can purchase earlier than I think! Thanks again.