Mortgage companies often grade your loan based on certain credit-related items such as payment history, amount of debt payments, bankruptcies, equity position, and your credit score.

Below is a guide to help you estimate your credit grade. This is only a guide as many companies have exceptions that may result in more strict or more lenient guidelines.

A General Guide to Credit Grades

• Other Things Being Equal
  When your have bad credit, all of the other aspects of the loan need to be in order. Equity, stability, income, documentation and assets play a larger role in the approval decision.
• Worst Case Scenario
  When determining your grade, various combinations are allowed, but the worst case will push your grade to a lower credit guide. Late mortgage payments and bankruptcies are the most important.
• Going Once, Going Twice
  Credit patterns are very important. A high number of recent inquiries and more than a few outstanding loans may signal a problem. A "willingness to pay" is important, thus late payments in the same time period is better than random late payments as they signal an effort to pay even after falling behind.