By Clay Edmonds – MortgageSimplified.net

Unless you’re over 50, you might not know what “GIGO” means.
G-I-G-O. It stands for Garbage In, Garbage Out—a concept from the early days of computer programming.

When I was in college, we didn’t have laptops or even computer terminals. We had punch card machines in a computer lab. We’d write our programs line by line, feed the cards into a reader, and hope the program ran correctly. But if even one card had bad logic or missing information, the whole thing failed.

Why? Because the system could only work with what we gave it. If we fed it garbage, we got garbage back.

Mortgages work the same way.

Why GIGO Still Matters in Today’s Mortgage Market

When someone reaches out about getting a mortgage, the first question is almost always:

“What’s your interest rate?”

And my answer is always:
“It depends.”

That’s when they’ll usually follow up with something like:

“Well, my credit score is around 700 and I make about $90,000 a year. Can you just give me a ballpark?”

But here’s the problem:
Those are only two pieces of the puzzle.

To give you a real, reliable quote, we need to look at:

  • Credit in detail, not just a ballpark score
  • How your income is earned (W-2, self-employed, 1099, etc.)
  • Your debts, assets, property type, and loan purpose
  • Whether you’re buying an investment, second home, or primary residence
  • How much you plan to put down—and where that money is coming from

If all you give is a quick summary, you’re going to get a quick estimate—not a real quote you can count on.

That’s classic GIGO: Garbage In, Garbage Out.

What You Should Provide for a Reliable Quote

To build a pre-qualification that holds up, we typically need:

  • Recent pay stubs or income documentation
  • A clear breakdown of your current debts
  • Authorization to review your credit
  • Information about the property or target price
  • Context on your goals—whether you’re buying, investing, or refinancing

It’s not to make the process harder. It’s to ensure the numbers you’re given are accurate, reliable, and helpful. And here is the bonus. If this work has been done, you and your realtor can get a property specific pre-approval in hours if not minutes to deliver your contract to purchase with confidence.

Your Advantage: Working with a Loan Strategist

At MortgageSimplified.net, we don’t want you to get caught up in the “teaser rate” game. We want you to be asked better questions upfront so you get a clear, actionable loan strategy—not just a number that sounds good until underwriting tears it apart.

Whether you’re buying your first home or financing an income property, the more complete the information you give, the better your outcome will be.

Ready for a Real Plan?

Start by requesting your free Property Evaluation + Strategy Report. We’ll show you the property’s estimated value, rental potential, and what kind of financing structure makes the most sense.

Click here to request your custom report

https://www.mortgagesimplified.net/home-value-comparisons/
Or schedule a call to walk through your scenario step-by-step.

Bottom Line

GIGO still applies—especially in lending.
If you put in partial information, you’ll get partial answers.
But when you give your broker the full picture, they will give you a plan that works.

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