When you’ve received your revised credit reports (after errors have been disputed and balances paid as much as makes sense), recalculate your personal statistics, including your new FICO scores. Other than the numbers, there is a short list of qualitative questions to ask yourself to round out your personal profile before the real matchmaking can begin:
- Fluctuations in income – Is your income is steady, or does it fluctuate monthly or seasonally?
- Priorities – What are your priorities for the financial side of this purchase? Are you trying to get maximum appreciation, get as low a payment as possible, or fit your five kids in as big a house as possible?
- Your Tax Situation – Do you usually have to write a big check at tax time?
- Your Exit Strategy – Why will you relocate when you move from this home? (Answers I’ve gotten to this question range from getting into a better school district to “they’ll carry me out in a pine box.”)
Check out our Types of Loans & Types of Lives Tool to explore how your answers to the above questions impact the fit between your lifestyle and various mortgage types.
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