Your credit history is a major factor in your ability to obtain a mortgage loan. Lenders will obtain a copy of your credit report and use your credit scores to help in the underwriting process.

Credit scores are numerical values that rank individuals according to their credit history at a given point in time. Your score is based on your past payment history, the amount of credit you have outstanding, and the amount of credit you have available.

Lenders use a process called underwriting, which is evaluating your ability and willingness to repay your loan. They judge your ability to repay by looking at the amount of your income, how stable your past earnings have been and your past credit history.

This helps them to determine if you can afford the loan payments. If you have made payments on time in the past and have a clean credit report to show for it, you will be judged as being trusted to make payments on time in the future.

Before trying to secure a loan, it is best to obtain a copy of your report, view the credit score, and work diligently to repair a low score. Once you have a solid credit report, then it is time to think about a mortgage loan.