If it seem like a “gift” is a hard thing to come up with – don’t dismiss the concept too soon. I know more than a few now-homeowners who had no clue where their down payment money would come from until they were reminded about gift money as a strategy, then cashed in long-ignored offers of help from parents, aunts and uncles.

many people don’t know is that recently the credit bureau changed how they handle credit inquiries and so now when you shop for a mortgage, even if multiple lenders review your credit they will all see the same scores and information so long as the last credit inquiry is within 14 days of the first.