You Found Your Dream Home! Now What?
You found your dream home. Now it's time to start the loan process. You're going to need to work with your loan originator (mortgage lender) to gather all sorts of paperwork to be able to submit your mortgage application. What kinds of paperwork? Here's a pretty comprehensive list!
Identity & Income Information
- Your full legal name, Social Security number, and date of birth. A copy of your Social Security card may be required.
- Your phone number, email address, and residential mailing addresses for the past two years
- Your primary and secondary income and sources
- Your government-issued photo ID
- All employer names, addresses, and phone numbers for the past two years
- The values of your bank, investment, and retirement accounts, as well as any other asset accounts
- Your monthly debt obligations
- The address of the property being purchased, year built, estimated down payment amount, and purchase price
- Estimates of annual property taxes, homeowners insurance, and homeowner association dues (if any)
Income Information for Self-Employed Borrowers
- Your personal and business federal tax returns for the past three years
- A year-to-date profit and loss statement
- A complete list of all business debts
Credit Information
- A letter of explanation for any late payments, judgments, collections, or other derogatory credit history items
- Source of funds documentation for any large deposits on asset or bank statements
- The judicial decree or court order of each obligation due to legal action
- Bankruptcy/discharge papers for all bankruptcies in your credit history
- Payment histories for utilities, cable TV, internet, phone, auto insurance, and any other expenses
Income & Tax Documentation
- IRS Form 4506-T — this is a request for your tax transcript and it must be completed, signed, and dated
- Your W-2s for the past two years
- Pay stubs for the past 30 days
- Your federal tax returns (1040s) for the past two years
- Your most recent two months’ asset and bank statements for all accounts on your application (all pages, including blank pages)
- A written explanation if you have been employed less than two years or if employment gaps exist
- A purchase and sales contract signed by all parties
- Homeowners insurance information, including the agent’s name and phone number
Submit your application
Fill out and sign Form 1003 — the residential loan application — including the attached fair lending notice, loan info sheet, and credit authorization. Mistakes should be crossed out and initialed - don't use White Out!
Review your Loan Estimate
This document contains important details about the loan your are applying for including estimates of your interest rate, monthly payment, closing costs, taxes, insurance and any prepayment penalties. The lender must provide this to you within three business days of receiving your application.
Review your Good Faith Estimate
This is the list of the settlement charges that you must pay at closing. The lender must provide this to you within three business days of receiving the mortgage application.
Clear any additional requests from underwriting
Underwriting is the department that reviews all of your identification, paperwork, and credit history to determine if you will qualify for the loan. Underwriters determine the terms of the loan and will sometimes require extra documents to fully understand your background and make their decision. It is important to make yourself available during the underwriting process and to respond to any requests promptly and thoroughly.
Review your Closing Disclosure
The lender must provide this to you at least three business days before you close your loan. This document contains the final terms of your loan. Use this timeframe to review it thoroughly and compare it to your loan estimate. Don’t be afraid to ask your lender questions if you are unclear about the terms.
Schedule your closing time and location and get the keys to your new home!
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