---
title: "Preparing to Shop for Your Mortgage — CFPB"
url: https://stacklist.com/card/16ebd014-3a8a-43f4-8815-4fc22a051a80
source_url: "https://www.consumerfinance.gov/owning-a-home/prepare/"
stack: https://stacklist.com/c/home/stack/e71e03e4-e9c2-4b03-97fb-e06a074e98f1
summary: "This guide helps prospective homebuyers prepare for the mortgage process by assessing finances, checking credit reports, setting a home-price budget, and understanding interest rate scenarios. It provides actionable steps, tools, and checklists to determine how much house a buyer can afford before shopping for a home or loan."
tags: "mortgage, home-buying, budgeting, credit-report, financial-planning, interest-rates, affordability"
key_entities: "Mortgage (concept), Home Affordability (concept), Credit Report (concept), Interest Rate (concept), Loan Application (concept)"
classification: "checklist"
content_hash: "sha256:f523616580891592576fa97f9b3d80c696dbf4f0196fa9838cf97b4052b637ab"
acp_version: "0.2"
token_counts_approximate: 334
visibility: public
agent_accessible: true
status: "final"
---

# Preparing to Shop for Your Mortgage — CFPB

Step 1 Preparing to shop for your mortgage Buying a home is exciting. Choosing a mortgage to pay for your new home is just as important. Don’t rush into it. Share & print Goals for this phase Determine how much you want to spend on a home Decide if it’s the right time to buy a new home Gather your application paperwork Action steps Before you start shopping for a home and a mortgage, set yourself up for success by taking time to prepare. Use our step-by-step guide to check your credit, assess your finances, set your home-price budget, and more. Get your money situation in order Figure out how much you want to spend Consider whether it's the right time for you to buy Create a loan application packet Tools for this phase Credit report checklist Review your credit reports early so you have time to correct mistakes. Check your report for errors Spending tracker Track your spending to know how much you can afford for a monthly payment. Track your spending Interest rate example scenarios The interest rate you expect to receive helps you decide how much to spend on a home. View example scenarios Visit our sources page to find more about the facts and numbers we reference. The process and forms described on this page reflect mortgage regulations that apply to most mortgages . Page last modified May 21, 2026 @ 02:19 PM EDT