How to Become Mortgage Ready in 90 Days

Mortgage ready is not a vibe. It is a checklist. Ninety days is enough time for most women to move from "I think I might qualify" to a fully documented, lender-approved file. Weeks one and two. Pull all three credit reports. Not the consumer score. The mortgage trimerge. Identify any collections, late payments, or high utilization. Dispute genuine errors. Pay revolving balances down below thirty percent of the limit, and below ten percent on at least one card if possible. Do not close old accounts. Weeks three and four. Document income. Two years of W-2s or tax returns. Most recent thirty days of pay stubs. If you are self-employed, get with a bookkeeper now and clean up your profit and loss. Lenders qualify on net income, not gross. Weeks five and six. Document assets. Two months of bank statements for every account you plan to use for down payment and reserves. Do not move money around. Large deposits without a paper trail will slow your file. Weeks seven and eight. Get pre-approved, not pre-qualified. A pre-qualification is a conversation. A pre-approval is an underwritten file. Ask for a desktop underwriter approval letter. Weeks nine through twelve. Shop loan products. Conventional, FHA, VA if eligible, and any state first-time buyer programs. Compare rates, but more importantly compare structures. Lock when the deal makes sense, not when the news cycle says to. Ninety days. One process. A different woman at the end of it.