Hi...and welcome.
Since you have already paid your old items, one thing you could do now is send these creditors what is called "goodwill letters" asking them to remove these items from your reports now that you have paid them. I would recommend that you do some reading in this forum and maybe ask questions on whether or not people have had luck with your specific creditors. Getting those items off your reports would be nice. Some companies will do it and some won't.
As to qualifying for a mortgage, you will want your scores as high as possible. Do you know what your FICO scores are now? (Be careful when you buy scores from some sites. You want to make sure you are getting true FICO scores, as those are the scores that will be used by your mortgage lender.) Also, you don't want to apply for any more credit until you know your scores. Inquiries on your credit reports can count against your FICO scores, so you don't want to apply for credit until you know you have a good chance of qualifying.
It sounds as if you are using your credit cards wisely. I don't know what kind of credit cards you have, but most credit card companies report the statement balance to the credit reporting agencies each month. It's good that you pay them in full each month. What you can do to maximize your scores is to go online before the statement cuts and pay them off. That way little or no balance will report. Your FICO scores will reflect what is reported...not what is paid...so you have to manage what you let report.
Keep reading here and on the credit card forum. And, since you are looking forward to purchasing a home, make your way over to the mortgage forum. The information here can be overwhelming at first. Just chew off a little bit at a time to improve your situation. The folks here are amazing and are willing to share their knowledge.
