We are currently renting and the home we rent is on the market. We intend to pay off some debts and in about a year, apply for a mortgage. My husband is a veteran, and we plan to look into a VA loan. We don't have a ton for a down payment, so that seems like the best option for us. We will be first time home buyers. I can't wait! 
Between the two of us, we make between $82-$85K a year. He makes the bulk of the income, I work part time. His credit score is around 700 (give or take a few points) and mine, last time I checked, was around 750. (That was Experian, I believe.)
Currently, we owe $2000 on a credit card (with a limit of about $7000) and he owes approximately $3000 in school loans. The two payments monthly combined are about $120. So, not much. I intend to have both of those completely paid off before we apply. I feel comfortable with what we have in savings for the time being (about $6000) so I plan to put every extra penny we have towards the CC and school loan for the next year and pay them off before we apply for our home loan.
We have no car payments. Mine is paid aff and he has a company vehicle.
Here is the kicker, though. He pays $1278 in child support monthly. That is not a huge amount for our income, but I think that $1278 is a fairly high monthly debt. But, it will be our only debt, so.....That's a positive.
We pay in cash for most things. I have two store credit cards (Old Navy and Kohls), both with $0 balances. We have the Discover card that has a $7000 limit and will be paid down to $0. That is all we have for credit cards.
So, here is the quick rundown of what our situation will be in a year or so when we apply for the loan:
Yearly income: $82-$85K (we gross approx $7000 a month)
Debts: Child support, $1278/month
His credit score, around 700. Mine around 750.
He has beeen at his current employer for two years, and three at the time we apply. I will have been at mine for about two years. Maybe a year and a half. He works in the medical industry and his job is very secure, and I work for my mom's business and my job is very secure as well.
We always have timely rent payments, and all of our other bills are timely as well. The car loan I had until two months ago was paid on time every month.
I have no negatives on my credit report. He has a negative or two from years ago. He went into arrears on his child support about five years ago when he was laid off and they reported negatively to the credit bureaus. (He didn't just "stop paying", he went to court immediately and they agreed to keep the amount the same, but it would go to arrears instead of lowering the amount, not the best situation, but that's what happened). I'm not actually sure whether ot reported as 'pays as agrees' or if it was a negative mark every month until it was paid off. It has been paid off in full about two years ago and he is very much on time with his payments and is never late. So, he is in good standings on that front, and will have been for about three years at that point.
I feel like we are in pretty good shape, but I hope I'm not delusional. lol. Does our situation sound reasonable enough to qualify for a home loan?
Base on the information you provided, you should be good in a year. if you plug in your PITI as $1200 your total DTI is 33% which is not bad , while your front end is 17% and your back end is 35%. this should qualify you assuming no other debt axcept your child support for $1278. your PITI could go up to $1500 before you are overextended. So basically this depends on how much houses go in your area and what you're looking for. i hope this helps
Starting Score: EQ: 532, EX: 569, TU: 621 (All lender pull 10/15/11)Thanks for your response, K_J!
We actually spoke with a VA loan officer after I posted this and he was very positive about our situation, credit scores, etc. (as it turns out, my husband's is 787! *faint* I had no idea it was so high! That was his median. No more gloating over MY excellent credit score! ) and we decided to go ahead and apply, and we pre-qualified on my husband's income alone for a hair under $300,000. I am shocked! We won't go that high, but wow. We are pre-qualified!!! I'm SO excited I'm giddy.