When applying for a mortgage, the lender you have chosen
will take many factors into account. These factors not only
influence what type of loans you can qualify for but also
what your monthly payments will be and how many years you
will take to pay the loan off completely.
Knowing these factors and doing what you can to improve
them all can make a tremendous difference when you go and
see your lender and start the process that will get you
your new property.
Some of the basic factors apply for just about any loan but
are especially important if you are trying to get a
mortgage. The big one is, yep, credit.
How good is your credit Get copies of all of your credit
reports from the 3 major consumer reporting companies and
check each one for errors.
Many times they have errors that can be corrected in just a
few weeks and that helps boost your score. If you have
credit cards, pay them off as well as any other outstanding
bills.
A nice large down payment will always improve your chances
of being approved. If your credit isn’t completely top
notch, the bigger the down payment, the more likely you
will get improved.
If your credit is great, you can still put down as much as
possible to lower the monthly payments or decrease the
total loan time.
Above all else, don’t lie to your lender. If you tell them
you are a supervisor of a power plant and they find out you
are a UPS man who has only had the job for 6 months, you
will be totally screwed. Be honest and your lender will do
their best to work with you.