Journal About Home Loans, Mortgage Rates and Buying a Home

Last Tuesday, my neighbor Sarah walked into Wells Fargo asking about $340,000 for a split-level in Tacoma. The loan officer didn't hand her a yes or no answer. Instead, she filled out an eight-page application, submitted her 2023 and 2024 tax returns, authorized a credit pull showing every payment to Capital One over the past seven years, and waited while someone verified her dental hygienist salary with the clinic's HR department.

Whether you breeze through approval or face rejection depends on specific financial metrics. Someone with 780 credit working ten years at Microsoft while paying $350 monthly on a Honda will probably close escrow in four weeks. Compare that to someone at 615 credit, eighteen months into a contracting gig, carrying $1,650 in monthly obligations across three credit cards and a Dodge Ram—that person faces months of additional documentation requests, or outright denial.

Lending standards shifted after 2020, though not uniformly. Wells Fargo might approve 610 credit scores today while demanding three months of extra bank statements. Bank of America could've relaxed their job history requirements but now caps debt ratios tighter than before. Rates swung from 5.8% up to 7.9% and back down to 6.5%, which changes what people can actually afford on a $72,000 salary.

Better approach? Learn exactly what underwriters scrutinize before submitting your first application.

What Determines Home Loan Approval

Five specific factors control whether you get funded. Fail on mu...