Tips for Obtaining Your First Home Mortgage

Having previously been a licensed real estate agent, I have helped many first time home buyers obtain their first home mortgage. Before you ever set up an appointment with a banker or mortgage company, take some simple steps in advance to make obtaining your first home mortgage as easy and stress free as possible.

Your first step should be to check your credit report over carefully and look for any errors. Mortgage companies will pay particular attention to any late payments you have made in the past 12 months or credit collections on your report.

Clear up any errors that are reported and try to have any negative reporting removed. If your credit score is poor, you may have to wait until your score rises to be able to obtain a mortgage.

Gather all your personal financial information together in one file. Some of the most common items you will need to bring to your first meeting with a mortgage company are:

Payroll stubs for at least 30 days
Amount owed and monthly payments on any auto loans
Account balances and minimum monthly payments on any credit card accounts
Amount of alimony or child support payments
Photo copies of your drivers license and social security card
Copy of your most recent tax return.
List of total assets (paid off cars, tools, valuable personal items etc)

Check out the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) website to check for the most current first time home buyer programs that are available in your state. You can also contact one of their home buying counselors for even more help.

Next set up an appointment with your local bank or mortgage company to get pre-approved for your mortgage. Being pre-approved will give you much more bargaining power when you submit an offer to buy a home. Home sellers and realtor's prefer to deal with buyers that have already been pre-approved for a mortgage.

I always suggest using your own bank or reputable mortgage company verses a "mortgage broker." While there are many good mortgage brokers, there are also many bad ones that will take advantage of a first time home buyer.

Lastly, try to maintain a good sense of humor and a lot of patience. Obtaining your first home mortgage can be a lengthy detailed process, but in the end will be worth all of the effort.