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Get your credit ready to buy a home.

A mortgage is the biggest approval most people ever apply for, and the lender reads your credit report line by line. Tailor Your Credit gets your file mortgage-ready before you apply: Angelo Garay reviews your report, works what is holding it back, and builds a plan toward the day you sit down with a lender.

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What mortgage lenders look at on your credit report

Your score is the headline, but underwriters read the whole report. These are the items that most often stand between a renter and a pre-approval.

Your scores

Most loan programs set a minimum score, and a higher score usually means a lower rate. FHA loans, for example, generally allow 3.5% down at a 580 score or higher.

Payment history

Payment history is the largest part of a FICO score, about 35%. Recent late payments weigh more than old ones.

Collections and charge-offs

Open collections and charge-offs signal risk. Some loan programs require certain balances to be resolved before closing.

Credit card balances

High balances compared to your limits pull your score down. Under 30% helps, and under 10% on the day your statement closes helps more. Lower balances also help your debt-to-income picture.

Recent inquiries and new accounts

New credit right before a mortgage application raises questions and can lower your score at the worst time.

How Angelo gets you mortgage-ready

Buy the house before the car.

A new car loan right before a mortgage adds a payment and a hard inquiry at the worst time. Angelo's rule: get the home first, then the car.

  1. 1

    Read the full report

    Your free call comes with a written audit: your scores, every account, every negative item, and what a low score is costing you on a home.

  2. 2

    Work what lenders flag

    Inaccurate, outdated, and unverifiable items get challenged, and you get the right moves in the right order for balances and new accounts.

  3. 3

    Line up the lender

    When your file is ready, Angelo can connect you with mortgage partners he works with, so you apply when you are in a position to get approved.

Signed up in February. Pre-approved for his first home in August.

One of Angelo's clients joined in February and was pre-approved to buy his first home in August, with Treadstone Mortgage. Another came in looking for an apartment and left with a mortgage.

Every credit file is different, and results vary.

Common questions

As early as you can. Most clients see their first changes within 30 to 90 days, and fuller timelines run 3 to 6 months depending on the file. Starting 6 to 12 months before you plan to buy gives you room to apply when your file is ready, not when the lease runs out.

Sometimes, depending on the loan program and the balances. Collections still lower your scores and can raise questions in underwriting. On the free call, Angelo looks at each one and tells you what to address before you apply.

Usually not. A new auto loan adds a monthly payment to your debt-to-income ratio and a hard inquiry to your report right before the lender reviews it. Get the home first, then the car.

Yes. Angelo partners with mortgage lenders, including Treadstone Mortgage, who refer borrowers to get their credit ready. When your file is ready, he can connect you with one.

No. No one can legally guarantee a credit outcome or a loan approval. What you get is a thorough review of your report, honest pricing, and a plan built around getting you mortgage-ready.

Find out how close you are to buying your home.

One free call. Angelo reads your report, walks you through it, and tells you the plan and the program that fit your goal, with every price up front.

Working toward something else? Get a Car Loan · Business Funding · Pay Off Debt