As I started this Homebuying Adventure, I’ll have to admit I was a little nervous about the mortgage process (check out my video here!).  Hidden in my credit closet were several credit cards with more debt than I would like to admit. So when Mollie Bergstrom from Allen Tate Mortgage said something about pulling my credit score, I prepared myself for the worst.

I’ve been working on paying down my credit cards (yes, I was one who fell into the credit trap right after college) and I’ve heard mixed comments about closing those cards after they are paid off. In talking about this dilemma with Mollie, she told me that closing paid-off cards erases the “good credit” that you’ve built up.  What? This is good to know! I have good credit on the cards with no balance! I tucked away this information and tried to ease my nerves on my pending credit score.

A few days later I received a notice in my mailbox from the credit folks.  Eeek!!! My sweaty palms nervously tore into the letter. It was my dreaded credit scores!  I looked at the first one … wait … this was better than I thought! Not in the pits after all and almost up into the clouds! I wanted to celebrate.

I met with Mollie again. She told me that my credit score was pretty good. She also told me that I was approved for an FHA loan. FHA loans are for people who don’t have much money for a down payment.With this loan you only have to put down 3.5 percent.  This was perfect for me. My biggest concern with buying a home was having little money to put down.

Mollie gave me a printout with all of the estimated costs broken out, which included closing costs, fees, property taxes, interest and mortgage insurance. Mortgage insurance? What was that? Mollie explained that your down payment and credit score will determine whether or not you need mortgage insurance.

What I found most valuable in this process was having a trusted partner to help me understand the mortgage process and help make sure that my goal of a mortgage was attainable. My take-aways from this experience are: (1) Don’t be afraid to ask questions and (2) meet with your mortgage partner several times, if necessary. These steps made a big difference in my homebuying experience.

Did you have mortgage fears similar to mine?

By Amy Gibbs