Should I consolidate my debt?

I'm in the process of trying to get approved for a mortgage. I don't have alot of debt. I have 8,000 on my car left. And 1,500 in credit cards. My husband has 4,000 in credit card debt. We were thinking about doing a debt consolidation and emptying the credit cards and having the one large monthly payment. Will this hurt, or improve our chances of getting approved for a decent loan for a house. Should just let them run our credit and debt and see what we get and consolidate only if we get denied. I don't know much of this and would like to buy a house within this year. Please help! Will choose best answer! Thanks in advance!