Loan application

All lenders require that you fill out a standard Residential Loan Application. The application captures basic information about your employment, assets, debts and other personal information pertinent to your ability to repay a loan. A completed loan application provides me with the basic information I need to assess your financial situation. Although it's easiest for us to complete the application together, feel free to download it here and look it over. 

Supporting documentation

The type of documentation you will need to provide a lender varies depending upon your situation. Here is a list of what most lenders require:

Income

For salaried borrowers:

• Copies of your current pay stubs, spanning one month and including year-to-date figures.
• Copies of your W-2s for the previous two tax years.

For self-employed borrowers:

• Copies of your most recent two years of personal tax returns.
• Partnership or corporate tax returns for the most recent two years (depending upon how your business is structured).
• In addition, lenders generally want to see a profit and loss statement for your business covering the current year-to-date. They usually require that self-employed borrowers show income documentation for their businesses covering at least the previous two years. (If you have been self-employed for fewer than two years, we may need to explore loan programs that accommodate your specific situation.)

Assets

• The most recent two month's worth of account statements for your bank, brokerage, and retirement accounts.
• If money for the down payment on your new property is coming from the sale of an existing property: a closing statement from the sale.
• If money for the down payment is coming as a gift: a gift letter from the donor as well as an asset statement documenting the funds.

Credit

I will run a credit report showing results from each of the three major credit reporting agencies, including individual credit scores. Lenders generally take the middle score of the three when evaluating your credit history. The report will also show specific information about your open credit accounts, closed credit accounts, derogatory credit accounts (late payments or collections), and other public information such as bankruptcy or tax lien filings.

Pre-approval

Before looking for a property to purchase, you will need to be "pre-approved" for a loan. By securing a pre-approval, you'll know what types of properties you can afford and what your monthly costs will be. Once I have gathered all of your information, I can provide an expert evaluation of your situation. The end result: a more efficient home search.

Starting the pre-approval process early allows me to help you work through any problems that might arise. For example, if we discover unexpected challenges within your credit history. I can work with you to resolve these issues, but it may take some time.

Once any issues have been resolved, I will work with you to find the loan (or loans) that you are qualified for and feel comfortable paying. Although you may be able to qualify for a purchase at a specific maximum price, you may not be comfortable taking on the payments associated with that loan. I can help you sort through the various factors you'll need to consider before arriving at a decision.

When we have identified the right loan(s) for you, I will pre-approve you for a purchase and provide a pre-approval letter to your real estate agent if required. You will then have all of the information you need to focus on your search for a property that you can afford.

Loan submission

When your offer on a property is accepted, we're ready to hit the ground running! Since you are already pre-approved, my tasks turn toward coordinating with your real estate agent to collect documentation specific to the property. I may also need current income and asset documentation from you if some time has passed since I issued your pre-approval.

Other items on my to-do list after an offer is accepted: ordering an appraisal of the property and packaging your loan application and supporting documentation for submission to the lender. I also search for the best current interest rate and "lock it in" for the amount of time it will take for you to close your transaction -- usually 30 days. If you are securing two loans for your purchase, I submit a separate application to each lender.

While your application is being underwritten, I monitor its progress and respond to any questions or concerns the lender might have. Even with a pre-approval in place, questions always seem to come up! When they do, I serve as your advocate, ensuring that the lender possesses clear information and helping the lender to make decisions in your favor.

After underwriting your file, the lender will issue a conditional loan approval. At this stage the lender approves your application subject only to receiving answers to some remaining questions or concerns. I work with you and your agent to satisfy whatever the lender needs in order to issue a final approval.

Upon final approval, I order the loan documents from the lender, and they are sent directly to the title company handling the escrow for the transaction. The final step: you sign the loan documents. Upon your signing, the title company records the documents with the county and you officially go on record as the new owner of the property. Congratulations -- you’re a homeowner!