Loan Application Process

Checklist

Items needed for loan process:

These items are typical for most lenders for most types of loan transactions, purchase or refinance. Please review all and send what applies to your situation. Ask me if you aren’t sure of something. Depending on the computer-generated loan approval; some items may be added or omitted. (Final approval is subject to manual verification by an underwriter, after the property is identified and under contract unless it’s a refinance.)

Please provide the following items so that I may better help you qualify for the best program to fit your personal needs. The more complete the file, the faster and often cheaper!

  1. The most current full-month pay stubs for each borrower, showing year-to-date earnings, include December 31st if you do not yet have your prior year’s W2 or 1099. Please send these automatically every time you receive a new one.
  2. Last 2 years W2’s or 1099 for each employer; from each borrower (please give dates at each job if more than 1)
  3. Last 2 years’ income tax returns, including all schedules (or year-end pay stubs for the prior year if return not filed). Please SIGN PAGE 2!
  4. Most current 3 months, consecutive bank statements (please include all pages even if the last one is blank. The lender’s auditor will hold up funding on this)
  5. Most current 1 month or quarterly (or if annual) statement for all retirement & investment accounts (all pages on this also please, again auditors will hold up closing if all pages are not there.) 
  6. Name, address, agent, and phone # of the Insurance Company you plan to use for the binder. Or I can refer you to someone.
  7. Payment for the appraisal is due when it is ordered and paid via credit/debit card. We can collect payment information at the time of application if you are comfortable. It will be applied as a credit to your loan closing costs. Costs range from $450-$850 if Jumbo, multi-unit, or commercial, $550 being the average. The lender will select the appraiser – as of 4/27/09; we no longer have any contact with appraisers.
  8. Per the US Patriot. Act. As of 10/03, 2 pieces of ID are mandatory for each borrower. Common: driver’s license and passport.
  9. If we are doing a refinance, stand-alone 2nd, or FHA Streamline, we will need a copy of the existing “Promissory NOTE” from the package that you got at escrow when you closed on the purchase or most current refinance of the first mortgage in order to calculate the streamline and verify benefit to you before applying for the loan.
  10. Original Certificate of Eligibility AND DD-214 on VA loans. Also, let me know if you are exempt from the funding fee.

Other items if applicable: Please review

  1. Last 2 years’ Corporate/ Partnership Tax Returns (all schedules and all pages)
  2. Year-to-date Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet (through most recent quarter)
  3. If you are applying for a commercial loan – also a financial statement.
  4. Business License if self-employed – at some point 3rd party verification may be required, such as a letter from CPA.
  5. Rental Agreements and rent rolls for all rental properties – lending guidelines require 6 months reserves for each rental-
  6. Divorce Decree, to document debt owed or to show that it is not owed, or to document income received from child support, only if you wish to reveal the income received to be considered a basis for repaying the loan. A complete copy of the Divorce Decree and any parenting plan will be required.
  7. Condo/PUD: name, address, and phone # of contact person for the Home Owners Association.
  8. Bankruptcy documents if filed in the past 7 years. (Includes CH 7, 11, 13.) Please include all pages.
  9. If credit issues, please write a page or less explanation letter for any and all credit issues and reasons. (Ex: divorce, medical, etc.) I will help you go over it before submitting it to underwriting.
  10. If you are applying for a construction loan, more detailed information will be needed about the builder at a later date. You can expect to provide a description of materials, contractors’ cost breakdown, and builder resume. Depending on the lender, it will more than likely need to be completed on their forms.
  11. SHORT SALE- If you are buying a short sale or REO, there may be additional items required, including filling out several forms with mainly the same information for the lender, who is currently the lien holder, in addition to your new lender that we will be getting your new loan with. These can take from 3-12 months to close, depending on liens.

Several things are going on at the same time with each loan. There are anywhere from 30-60 people involved in closing your loan when you take into account the title company, appraisers, and underwriter, all the way down to the courier and clerk at the county recording final numbers. We have to wait for several steps and be ready to do our part when called on. I will assist you as we get to each step and make the requests needed at that time. I will outline a general workflow here that you can follow along with.

NEXT: Pre-Approval Process

If you’d like to order your copy now of the entire book and its guide, you can click the link here Where to Buy the Book – The Mortgage Loan Process %

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