← Buyer Toolkit
The buying playbook
Stage 1: Getting your money ready
Credit, debt, down payment and savings: what lenders look at, and what you can work on before you apply.
- Read 1 · 10 minHow your credit shapes your loan optionsWhy credit behaves as a dial rather than a pass/fail gate, shaping the rate offered, the programs available, and the down payment
- Read 2 · 10 minDebt-to-income, before you applyHow front-end DTI measures the proposed PITI housing payment while back-end DTI adds every other recurring debt payment
- Read 3 · 7 minDown payment assistance programsHow forgivable second mortgages, deferred-payment loans, outright grants, and rate or fee reductions differ as forms of down payment assistance
- Read 4 · 9 minGift money for a down paymentWhy acceptable gift donors are defined by each loan program, and how lender overlays can add stricter rules
- Read 5 · 13 minA 12-month runway to buyingWhat the diagnostic phase covers: all three credit reports, a written debt inventory, tax returns, and a rough housing budget
We don't look up who you are from your answers, and we don't sell your information.
Buying for the first time? HUD-approved housing counselors offer pre-purchase counseling, often at no cost. Find a counselor