Getting ready to apply for a mortgage in January please advise

[GTBURN]

I have been a member of the board for a very long time just reading and working on my credit and this is my 1st postl...I am looking to get a loan for 280-300k w/ 10k down.

My Fico 8 Scores are EQ696 TU750 EX616 and  my mortgage scores are EQ721 TU742 EX665 

March will mark 2 years in the Auto Industry and my YTD will finish at 95k my previous year was 51k and since I am 100% commission employee I belive they will average the last 2 years of income.

I have 25k in available CC and only owe about 3k.  

The only other bills I have is rent @ 2k, your basic utilites and I haven't had an autoloan for 5 or 6 years.

I did have a Chapter 7 in Jun of 2010.

I have been working very hard on improving my scores and getting back on track. I have had a bit of a problem getting the last few items removed of my EX report which is why the score is a bit lower.

My biggest concern is pulling my credit, taking the hard inquiry hit for a preapproval and getting denied.  So do i just pull the trigger and go for it or should I wait a bit longer?

Any suggestion will be greatly appriecated. 

[StartingOver10]

Glad to see you are posting!

The mortgage lender will use your FICO mid-mortgage score for qualifying, not your FICO 8s.  So pull your 3B report here and look at the section that is labeled 'scores typically used for mortgage lending'.  The pull here is not counted as a hard pull. It is a soft pull so you know what the lender will see before you apply. 

Look at the top of this mortgage subforum and read Revelates post about mortgage scores.

Assuming that you have good scores, the $10k is going to be light for a $300k mortgage even with FHA financing. Are you a veteran? If so, you can get a VA mortgage with zero down (if you qualify).  In any event, you will need to get more funds for down payment and for closing costs.  I usually estimate approx 4% of the mortgage amount for closing costs.  This is on top of your down payment.  Some sellers will pay some or all of your closing costs and pre-paid expenses due at closing, but it has to be in your contract for the lender to count it.  

You are right about the lender averaging your income for the last two years. Depending upon your actual debt at the time of application, the $300k works with an average income of $73k.  

[GTBURN]

Thanks for the reply...my morgage scores work out a bit better EQ721 TU742 EX665...do you think i could get away with 5% down?  I am trying to keep as much money in the bank as possible and no I am not a veteran.

---

@StartingOver10 wrote:

Glad to see you are posting!

The mortgage lender will use your FICO mid-mortgage score for qualifying, not your FICO 8s.  So pull your 3B report here and look at the section that is labeled 'scores typically used for mortgage lending'.  The pull here is not counted as a hard pull. It is a soft pull so you know what the lender will see before you apply. 

Look at the top of this mortgage subforum and read Revelates post about mortgage scores.

Assuming that you have good scores, the $10k is going to be light for a $300k mortgage even with FHA financing. Are you a veteran? If so, you can get a VA mortgage with zero down (if you qualify).  In any event, you will need to get more funds for down payment and for closing costs.  I usually estimate approx 4% of the mortgage amount for closing costs.  This is on top of your down payment.  Some sellers will pay some or all of your closing costs and pre-paid expenses due at closing, but it has to be in your contract for the lender to count it.  

You are right about the lender averaging your income for the last two years. Depending upon your actual debt at the time of application, the $300k works with an average income of $73k.  

---

[DallasLoanGuy]

your profile looks of for 5% down

[nmjacobs]

OP posted mortgage scores too : ) If my middle score was 721 I would for sure pull the trigger!

[VALoanMaster]

---

@qwerwerqwer wrote:

I have been a member of the board for a very long time just reading and working on my credit and this is my 1st postl...I am looking to get a loan for 280-300k w/ 10k down.

My Fico 8 Scores are EQ696 TU750 EX616 and  my mortgage scores are EQ721 TU742 EX665 

March will mark 2 years in the Auto Industry and my YTD will finish at 95k my previous year was 51k and since I am 100% commission employee I belive they will average the last 2 years of income.

I have 25k in available CC and only owe about 3k.  

@Anonymous only other bills I have is rent @ 2k, your basic utilites and I haven't had an autoloan for 5 or 6 years.

I did have a Chapter 7 in Jun of 2010.

I have been working very hard on improving my scores and getting back on track. I have had a bit of a problem getting the last few items removed of my EX report which is why the score is a bit lower.

My biggest concern is pulling my credit, taking the hard inquiry hit for a preapproval and getting denied.  So do i just pull the trigger and go for it or should I wait a bit longer?

Any suggestion will be greatly appriecated. 

---

It looks like you're good to go either FHA with 3.5% down or conventional with 3 to 5% down.

[StartingOver10]

---

@nmjacobs wrote:
OP posted mortgage scores too : ) If my middle score was 721 I would for sure pull the trigger!

---

Oops! You are right - both that he posted them and that at 721 its a good time to pull the trigger

[GTBURN]

Thank you everyone for all your responses. I definitely feel more confident with pulling the trigger.

Typically don't the seller pay a portion of the closing cost?

[StartingOver10]

---

@qwerwerqwer wrote:
Thank you everyone for all your responses. I definitely feel more confident with pulling the trigger.

Typically don't the seller pay a portion of the closing cost?

---

No.  The seller has their own closing costs to pay - usually around 8%-9% of the sales price.  

Your closing costs are based on the amount you borrow.  If you were to pay cash you would have virtually no closing costs. Closing costs for a buyer include the one-time fees due at closing, pre-paid expenses and usually the fees to set up an escrow account to pay your property taxes, homeowner insurance and mortgage insurance (if applicable). 

Title fees are negotiable - and having the sellers' pay some of your closing costs are negotiable. But it is more difficult to get the seller to pay some of your closing costs because that amount comes off the top of their proceeds and in a seller's market they don't have to pay your costs to get their home sold.