A Good Credit Score: You will generally need a 650 to 720 Credit score or above. Any co-borrowers, on your mortgage application, will also need good credit. Like anything else, there are exceptions to this. But the more exceptions you require, the lower your chances of getting the best rate.

Employment Tenure: If you just started your job, you may not qualify with some of the mortgage lenders. Many mortgage lenders prefer to see at least a one-year job history if you’re salaried.

Clean Credit: Lenders want to see no derogatory items on your credit report. You want to make sure that no missed mortgage payments show on your credit report as lenders will not be comfortable lending at the best mortgage rates if this is an issue on your credit report. Also one missed payment in three years might be okay; five missed payments are not, especially if they went to collections.

Provable Income: A lender will usually ask you to prove your full income with tax documents and/or employer pay stubs. This is important you make think your income is fine, but you will need a two-year history of any bonus income, commissions, tips income or part-time income in order to be able to use it as part of your mortgage application. 

Reasonable Debt Ratios: If your monthly housing and payment obligations are more than 44% of your gross monthly income, you’ll seldom get the best rates. It is important to note that, your monthly housing costs (mortgage payment, property taxes, heat, and half your condo fees) cannot be more than 39% of your gross monthly income. That 39% limit usualy requires a 680+ credit score.

To qualify for the lowest mortgage rates, you’ll have to pass the federal government’s mortgage stress test. All that means is that the lender will calculate your debt ratios using an inflated interest rate. If the lender is offering you a 3.25% rate, for example, it might stress test you to see if you can afford payments at a 5.25% rate.