Mortgage...Apply now or later??

[Foodie2018]

Hello,

Scenerio:

So my husband and are looking to buy a house next year, next Spring to be exact. Anyway, my cs is at a 667 and my husband is in the high 580. I have a realtor who advised me to apply with her lender now, so that she can tell us what all we need to work on between now and next year. Due to our scores, we were hoping to get an FHA, but I'm optimistic that we can make great strides credit wise in a year (which was my plan all a long). Its just that I always envisioned cleaning up my credit and bringing it to the mid 700s BEFORE we applied, but the realtor is saying we need try now.

I'm so confused on how this process works, and I don't want to be overzealous. This is my first time even attempting to try for a loan.

Question:

Won't applying now, drag our already struggling scores down?

What comes first the realtor or the lender? Or both?

I'd appreciate some honest, real deal, straight up, raw no chaser feedback!

Thanks

[Anonymous]

Do you know why your scores are where they are currently? What credit negatives do you have?
Typically 1 inquiry from a mortgage application won't hurt your score too bad, but you can probably find out what you 'need to work on' by taking a good look at your credit report and asking questions/researching on this forum.

[H-B]

You have time to work on your loan scenario to get better interest rate.  First work with lender who has less overlays on lower FICO. There are so many lenders who offer FHA but few lenders  have less overlays. Ask them to work on your credit.  Follow the directions and keep looking for properties if something comes in your way which you like it.