Your best friend just bought a house and has invited you over for to see it for the first time. You pull up to the curb filled with a sense of amazement and dread, wondering how did they do that? No one teaches a class in school called “How to Buy a House,” and it is all a mystery.

Actually, buying a house should not be a mysterious or intimidating process once you understand when you are ready. So ask yourself a few questions (yes, right now).

1. Have you been with your current employer for at least a year?

Are you are paid an hourly or salaried wage? Do you receive commission or bonus income that needs to be included? If so, you need two years on the job in order to use it as qualifying income. Are you self-employed? Then you’ll need two years of self-employment and two years of federal tax returns as proof of your income.The point is that lenders are looking for good job stability to qualify for a mortgage loan.

2. What do you have for monthly debt?

Is it easy to pay your bills and still have money left over for living expenses and savings? Bonus points. Lenders will evaluate your monthly debts to calculate what is left over for a potential house payment. Car payments and leases, student loan payments, other loan payments, and credit card required payments are all considered, so have detailed information about this with you. Lenders do not include utility or insurance bills. With student loan debt the “required” full student loan payment will be used in debt calculation, even if you are currently on an income-based repayment plan or student loan payments are deferred, or even if you are still a student. For most student loan payments, these figures can easily be accessed from student loan websites.

3. What is your credit history?

Have you paid all of your bills on time for the last 24 months? Do you know what your current credit score is? Have you had collections accounts or judgments filed against you? Have you had a bankruptcy or a foreclosure? What percentage of your potential credit card debt is being used? Many credit cards now offer you a free credit score on your statement each month. Be less concerned about the actual score than with the direction the score is moving in. If it is moving up, that’s a good thing; if it has taken a sudden plunge, you need to find out why. Credit Karma is an app that many people have added to their smart phones. The score does not match what a lender would pull on a mortgage, but the direction and the general range of the score are important. If you have some negative factors, work to correct them NOW (not when you have fallen in love with a house). Pay off collections and judgments. Allow adequate time to pass after a bankruptcy or foreclosure (or a short sale) before you attempt to buy again. Check with your lender on what is required for timing (it changes by loan program).

4. Have you started saving money for a down payment?

“No,” you may say. “How can you save for something that you don’t know the price of?” Having a savings history and adequate funds for a down payment can be the key component to what kind of home loan product you’ll be looking at. Establishing a price range and savings goal are a few of the things you’ll accomplish when you meet with your lender. The next step is to sit down with a lender of your choosing to review these items and see which loan program will fit your needs and purchase price. This can be too big (and confusing) of a process to do it totally online. The 45 minutes you spend face to face with your lender will lay some nice, clear groundwork on what you want to accomplish and when. A good lender should be a good listener and be able to explain the various factors of different programs. So get recommendations from friends on a good home loan officer to work with and start dreaming the American Dream.