When applying for a mortgage, the lender you have chosen will take many factors into account. These factors not only influence what type of loans you can qualify for but also what your monthly payments will be and how many years you will take to pay the loan off completely.

Knowing these factors and doing what you can to improve them all can make a tremendous difference when you go and see your lender and start the process that will get you your new property.

Some of the basic factors apply for just about any type of loan but are especially important if you are trying to get a mortgage. The key factor is, of course, credit.

Have you seen your credit report lately? Most people haven’t. Get a free copy of your credit report from each of the 3 major credit reporting agencies from the annualcreditreport.com website with just a few minutes’ effort.

Many times they have errors that can be corrected in just a few weeks and that helps boost your score. If you have credit cards, pay them off as well as any other outstanding bills.

A nice large down payment will always improve your chances of being approved. If your credit isn’t completely top notch, the bigger the down payment, the more likely you will get improved.

If you have great credit, you can still obtain better mortgage terms by increasing your down payment

Above all else, don’t lie to your lender. If you tell them you are a supervisor of a power plant and they find out you are a UPS man who has only had the job for 6 months, you will be totally screwed. Be honest and your lender will do their best to work with you.