What lenders check, which documents to gather before you apply, and how to verify your credit reports.
How To Use This Path
Learn it in the sequence that matters.
Buying a first home rewards preparation. The path below moves from getting your credit and budget ready, into the assistance programs that can lower what you need up front, and on through the buying process step by step — so each stage builds on the one before it.
You do not need to finish it in one sitting. Read the stage that fits where you are today, and come back for the next one when you are ready.
01Credit and mortgage readiness
02Down payment assistance in Houston
03The buying process, step by step
04Ask a question when you get stuck
The Learning Path
Four steps from renting to a confident first offer.
Each step points to a full guide that stays free to read. Follow them in order, or jump to the one you need right now.
How City of Houston and Texas TDHCA assistance programs work, and how to check the eligibility rules.
From pre-approval and contract to the Texas option period, inspection, appraisal, and closing.
Keep Learning
Short reads while you work the path.
The Buyer Journal collects short, practical notes — what to gather before you call a lender, how credit readiness really works, and how to build a 90-day plan — that sit alongside the full guides.
When You Have A Question
Need guidance or a personalized readiness plan?
Tell us where you are in the learning path and what you want to achieve. Our team will help point you to the right guide or tailor your buyer-readiness plan.