Every mortgage lender is ultimately trying to answer one question: how likely is this loan to be repaid, on time, for the next 15 to 30 years? Almost everything on a loan application exists to help answer that question, and it usually comes down to four things underwriters call the "four C's": credit, capacity, capital, and collateral.
Credit is your track record with debt — your credit score and the history behind it. Capacity is your ability to make the monthly payment, measured mainly through your income and your existing debts (lenders compare your monthly debt payments to your monthly income, a ratio called debt-to-income, or DTI). Capital is the money you bring to the table — your down payment and cash reserves. Collateral is the home itself, since the lender's loan is secured by the property.
No single number decides the outcome. A lender weighs all four together, and different loan programs weigh them differently — some are more flexible on credit if your income is strong, others allow a lower down payment in exchange for mortgage insurance. That's part of why "can I buy a home?" doesn't have one universal answer; it depends on the specific combination of your credit, income, debt, and savings, matched against a specific loan program.
This is also why the most useful early step isn't guessing — it's getting a real read from a licensed loan officer, who can pull your actual numbers into an actual program and tell you where you stand. Everything in this Academy is here to help you walk into that conversation informed, not to replace it.
As you move through the next stages, keep this frame in mind: you're not being judged as a person, you're being measured against a repayment model. Understanding the model is what lets you improve your position instead of feeling like the process is a black box.