Your first step: Build the free DueSmart Credit Health Passport. If your reports contain a genuine, supportable error, follow the Repair path. If the reports are accurate and you are preparing for a future opportunity, follow Growth.

Months 9–7: review the whole picture

Check credit reports, list monthly debt payments, review income stability, and estimate cash needed beyond the down payment. Mortgage readiness includes closing costs, moving expenses, maintenance, and an emergency reserve.

If a report contains a genuine error, document it early. Accurate negative information calls for a forward plan, not a false dispute.

Months 6–4: organize and stabilize

Protect on-time payments, avoid unnecessary new obligations, and collect records that explain income and funds. Self-employed applicants may need different documentation than salaried employees.

Do not move money between accounts without preserving a clear record of where it came from.

Months 3–2: interview providers

Ask several lenders what documentation and loan programs may fit your situation. Separate general prequalification from an actual application, and ask whether an inquiry will be hard or soft before authorizing it.

Compare service, expected costs, and assumptions—not only a quoted rate.

Final month: verify, then shop

Refresh documents, review the current reports, protect cash, and avoid last-minute credit experiments. When official Loan Estimates arrive, compare the same loan type and assumptions side by side.

No preparation plan guarantees approval or a particular rate.

Your action checklist

  1. Build the Passport
  2. Review reports nine months early
  3. Calculate monthly obligations
  4. Estimate total cash needs
  5. Organize the application packet
  6. Compare official Loan Estimates
Keep the promise honest: DueSmart helps you understand, organize, document, and prepare. It does not guarantee a score increase, deletion, apartment, vehicle, home, rate, or funding approval.

Authoritative sources

DueSmart provides general consumer education and organization tools—not legal, tax, financial, credit-repair, real-estate, or investment advice. Laws, provider criteria, bureau data, and scoring models can change. Confirm current requirements with the relevant provider and qualified professionals.