Click here for our Good Faith Estimate request form
1) Organize your Documents.
Buying or refinancing a home:
- If you are salaried: provide two years W-2 and one month of pay stubs OR if
you are self-employed: provide two years tax returns and a YTD profit and loss
statement.
- If you own rental property, please provide rental agreements and two
years tax
returns.
- If you wish to speed up the approval process, please also
provide three months bank statements for each bank, stock and mutual fund
account.
- Provide recent copies of any stock brokerage or IRA/401K
accounts that you may have.
- If you are requesting a cash out refinance
please provide a letter explaining what you plan to do with the proceeds.
- Provide a copy of divorce decree if applicable.
- If you are NOT a
US citizen, provide us with a copy of your green card (front & back)
or, if you are NOT a permanent resident provide us with your
H-1 or L-1 Visa.
If you are applying for a home equity loan:
- If you are salaried: provide
two years W-2 and one month of paystubs OR if you are self-employed:
provide two years tax returns and
a YTD profit and loss statement.
- If you own rental property,
please provide rental agreements and two years tax returns.
- Please provide
a copy of the note on your first mortgage. This will normally be found in your
closing loan documents.
- Please provide a signed letter explaining what you
plan to do with the proceeds.
- Provide a copy of divorce decree if applicable.
- If you are NOT a US citizen,
provide us with a copy of your green card (front & back)
or, if you are NOT a permanent resident provide us
with your H-1 or L-1 Visa.
2) Get Qualified.
Getting qualified before you apply for a loan can help
you understand how much you can borrow.
When buying a house,
you may get pre-qualified or pre-approved. You can typically get
pre-qualified over
the phone or
on the Internet in a few minutes. A pre-qualification
is not as beneficial as a pre-approval
where you have to
go through a more rigorous process which
includes verification of your credit,
income, assets and liabilities.
It is highly recommended that
you get pre-approved before you
start looking for a house. This will help you:
- Find out
the maximum house you can buy, so you don't waste time looking for
properties you cannot afford.
- Puts you in a stronger position when you are negotiating
with the seller because the seller knows that your loan is already approved.
- Helps
you close quickly, since your loan is already approved.
3) Shop loan programs
and rates.
To shop for a loan you will need to:
- Think about how long you plan to keep the
loan. If you plan to sell the house in a few years you may want to
consider an adjustable or balloon
loan. On the
other hand, if you plan to keep the house for a longer
time, you may want to look at fixed loans.
- Understand the relationship between
rates and points. Points are considered to be prepaid interest and are tax
deductible. Each point
is
equal to one percent of the loan. So for example 1 point on a $150,000
loan is
$1,500.
The more
points you pay, the lower the rate you will get.
- Compare
different programs. Shopping for a loan can be difficult. With so many programs
to choose from,
each of which has different
rates, points
and
fees,
it's hard to figure out which program is best for
you. That's where an experienced loan officer can help you
make a decision
that's
best for
you.
4) Obtain Loan Approval
Once your loan application has been received we will start
the loan approval process immediately. This involves verifying your:
- Credit
history
- Employment history
- Assets including your bank accounts, stocks, mutual fund
and retirement accounts
- Property value
Based on your specific situation, additional
documents or verifications may be required.
To improve your chances
of
getting a loan approval:
- Fill out the loan application completely.
- Respond promptly to any requests
for additional documents. This is especially critical if your rate
is locked or if you plan to close by a certain date.
- Do not make any major purchases.
Do not buy a car, furniture or another house until your loan
is closed. Anything that causes your debts to increase
might have an adverse affect on your current application.
- Do not move money
into your bank accounts unless it can be traced. If you
are receiving money from friends, family or other relatives,
please contact us.
- Do not go out of town around the closing date.
If you do plan to be out of town when your loan is
expected to close, you may sign
a power of attorney to authorize
another individual to sign on your behalf.
5) Closing the Loan
After your loan is approved, you will be required to sign the
final loan documents. This will normally take place
in front of a notary
public. Be prepared to:
- Bring a cashiers check for
your down payment and closing costs if required. Personal checks
are normally not accepted.
- Review the final loan documents. Make sure that the interest
rate and loan
terms are what you were promised. Also, verify that the name
and address on the loan
documents are accurate.
- Sign the loan documents. Your loan will normally close shortly after you have
signed the loan documents. On refinance and home equity loan transactions
federal law requires that you
have 3 days to review the documents before your loan
transaction can close.
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