if you are thinking of buying a home, a common question is to ask how far before wanting to buy should you apply for a mortgage loan.

My general guidance is as follows:

If your credit score is over 740 and you have at least ten open items of credit and do not have ANY late payments in the last 24 months, No Bankruptcy, Foreclosure or Repossessions in the last seven years or collections or charge-offs reported on your credit, you could probably apply  the moment you start officially looking. This usually means once Real Estate Agents are actively sending you listing,

If not over 740 or if you have any of the aforementioned negative events, start now.

Applying today, understanding your overall situation, plus knowing exactly where your credit score is, it would be easy to guide you into doing a few things to get your score as high as possible. The better your score, the better your interest rate.

As all loans depend on your personal situation, and your credit profile, the earlier we look, the more time you have to improve your situation.

It is not uncommon for me to take an application a full year ago, find out the client has a very low credit score, advise and work on repairing credit, then looking today to see their score has improved to a level that not only can they get a loan, but they can also get a good interest rate.

Remember, you CAN apply to see where you are now, and hit the pause button once you start.