<prompt> Human: Im new to this sub, and Im looking for advice about putting myself and my wife in the best situation for obtaining a favorable mortgage. Ive never bought a house, so Im a novice when it comes to this stuff.Some info about me:INCOME170k per year, 40k per year for my wifeMY DEBT-Owe 60k in Stafford student loans 6.55 interest rate. Currently set up for the most long-term repayment plan they offer, resulting in me paying about 350 per month although I have been separately paying much more. I originally set it up this way because I had two other student loans with much higher interest rate, so I paid the minimum on the low-interest and threw as much extra money at the high interest that I could. Those two are now paid off.-Owe 23k on a 0 apr credit card with a total credit line of 35k. Currently making minimum payments. 0 apr expires February of 2016, and I plan to pay the balance completely by this date at the latest.-Owe 6.5k on a 0 apr credit card with a total credit line of 19k. Currently making minimum payments. 0 apr expires June of 2015, and I plan to pay the balance completely by this date at the latest.MY WIFES DEBT-NoneMONTHLY OBLIGATIONS-1,400 per month in rent-600 per month in utilities-Other normal expenses food, etc., although we live relatively frugallyOTHER INFO-Have an AMEX charge card that I pay off in full every month-Have one other credit card that I do not currently use with a credit line of 2k-I currently have a very good credit score, although I know that the balances that Im currently carrying which are relatively new are not good for it. My wife has less credit history than I do, although shes working on it.-Currently have 18k in my savings account-7k in an IRAMy main question is, what should I do to put myself in the best position for buying a house? We want to buy a house in the 400,000 range. My understanding is that Ill get the best interest rate on a mortgage if I am carrying less debts. In that sense, the ideal situation seems to be to pay off my credit card debts and student loan debts before applying. However, this is not realistic, as we are looking to buy a house within the next year. As such, how much of my debt should I pay off before I start saving for the down payment? Should I just maintain the debts and start saving for the down payment now? Im trying to figure out where that line is. Of course, no matter what I do, I NEED to pay off the 0 apr credit cards before those rates expire.  <response>: I dont think youre ready to buy a house. You have an excellent income but nothing to show for it. You owe 90k in debt, and only have 25k in assets. Speaking from experience, I would pay off the debt first. Buying a house within the year just isnt in the foreseeable timeline. With your income, you should be able to pay off those debts in a year, then spend 2016 saving up for a house down payment. You will need 80k for a down payment on a 400k house, plus youll want a savings buffer for emergencies. 