havent filed taxes since 97

Unless you can pay cash and don't need to get a mortgage, or unless you can get a loan from someone other than a regular mortgage lender, it is very unlikely that you will be able to buy a house unless you can show that you didn't file any income tax returns since 1997 because you weren't legally required to do so. Unless your only income for all those years is Social Security benefits and tax-exempt income, or unless you barely had any income at all for all those years, you probably were required to file. If you were required to file and you would have had to have paid additional funds with your returns for any of those years, then you have a big mess on your hands. If you were required to file but your withholdings or estimated tax payments were made and the amounts you actually paid would fully cover any income tax liability you would have had, you have a smaller mess, but still a mess. The best suggestion I can give you is to start taking corrective actions as soon as possible. Find a really good CPA who handles tax controversies and can help you put together as much information as possible, and then file the returns you should have filed. Figure out what, if anything, you owe in taxes, interest, and penalties, and get started on paying that amount. If you do this, you may eventually be able to get a mortgage. Best wishes to you.