Hi everyone! First of all, thanks for reading!
I am prepping for house hunting in the next 6-12 months. I currently have no dings - no collections, no lates since 2017 (even then, just two 30's). I am currently sitting at about 58% utilization on my credit cards, though - that's dragging my scores down. Score simulators project it to be 710-720 once those are paid. Working on that now.
Is there anything else I should be doing to prep for the underwriting process? I know paying down the debt to boost my score, maintaining my on-time payments, etc. But what else will they dig into in the underwriting process? Should I be putting together a file of documentation on rent payments and such? Thanks in advance for any advice you can give! 
Tax documents, bank statements, pay stubs are all going to be required. If your down payment money isn't in the bank ready to go when you apply, you are going to have to document where the money for the DP is coming from. Any irregular large deposits are going to require a letter of explanation. Any recent inquiries on your credit reports may require letters of explanation as well.
Your loan officer/processor will give you a list of what is required after you have applied for your loan. This likely varies from lender to lender, but mine requires an application and HP for a prequalification. This provides the amount for which you could finance and will generally be needed to shop for houses, as many agents will want to know you are already prequalified to work with you (they won't want to waste time on someone who can't qualify for financing). You'll also likely need it to submit an offer on a house. Once you have a ratified contract, the loan wil go to underwriting, where the processor will request all of this documentation.
The mortgage specialists here can add more info.
Piece of advice: Keep track of rent payments and don't apply for any new credit! I'm in the same stage you are and that's one of the biggest things they tell me!
@ZiggyMRA wrote:Hi everyone! First of all, thanks for reading!
I am prepping for house hunting in the next 6-12 months. I currently have no dings - no collections, no lates since 2017 (even then, just two 30's). I am currently sitting at about 58% utilization on my credit cards, though - that's dragging my scores down. Score simulators project it to be 710-720 once those are paid. Working on that now.
Is there anything else I should be doing to prep for the underwriting process? I know paying down the debt to boost my score, maintaining my on-time payments, etc. But what else will they dig into in the underwriting process? Should I be putting together a file of documentation on rent payments and such? Thanks in advance for any advice you can give!
@ZiggyMRA wrote:Hi everyone! First of all, thanks for reading!
I am prepping for house hunting in the next 6-12 months. I currently have no dings - no collections, no lates since 2017 (even then, just two 30's). I am currently sitting at about 58% utilization on my credit cards, though - that's dragging my scores down. Score simulators project it to be 710-720 once those are paid. Working on that now.
Is there anything else I should be doing to prep for the underwriting process? I know paying down the debt to boost my score, maintaining my on-time payments, etc. But what else will they dig into in the underwriting process? Should I be putting together a file of documentation on rent payments and such? Thanks in advance for any advice you can give!
Based on your scores, you shouldn't need a VOR (verification of rent history).
Try to keep the transaction history of your bank accounts free from "unusual" or large deposits (like outside of payroll) and transfers in and out of the account. Doing so will decrease the amount of documentation the lender will need.
If you're a W-2ed employee, you should just need the last 2 years W-2s, most recent 60 days bank statements/assets and the most recent 30 days pay stubs.
Work on paying down your credit cards and saving for your down payment and closing costs. If you don't already have emergency reserves with 6 months of bills saved, start that as well.