Mortgage Lending Process.

1.  Early Indication.  If you have a fair sense of your credit score and 5-10 minutes for a high level conversation, we can typically provide a reasonable sense of the type of loan that would fit your situation and an overview of the current interest rates we are seeing in the market.

2.  Initial Consultation.  Before we start asking for sensitive personal information, we offer each of our prospectice clients the opportunity to spend a little extra time with us exploring the trade-offs between different loan options, understanding the different levers that affect loan pricing, seeing how those choices translate into a monthly mortgage payment, and experiencing the kind of ‘behind the curtains’ transparency that you can’t find anywhere else.

3.  Loan Application.  Stepping into the details, you can complete the loan application online when it is convenient for you.  It takes about 10 minutes and covers three (3) primary areas:

a.  Credit.  Your FICO score, credit history, and monthly payment obligations; requires Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and the current address for each borrower.

b.  Income.  The monthly income that is used to cover the monthly mortgage payment; typical documentation includes copies of recent paystubs or, for self-employed borrowers, one or more recent year(s) of tax returns.

c.  Assets.  Understanding the source of funds that will be used to cover the down payment and associated closing costs; typical sources include a bank account, an investment account, a 401(k) loan, the sale of your current home, or a gift from a relative.

4.  Pre-Qualification Letter.  To prepare a written pre-qualification letter, we need copies of the documentation supporting key income and asset figures provided during the loan application process, as well as a tri-merge credit report that confirms the monthly obligations that will need to be included in the analysis.  This allows us to validate critical information and confirm your mortgage qualification (for everyone involved).  For certain situations that are exceptionally complex or where unusual factors need to be considered, we may need to allow additional time to submit your documents for a full underwriting review and to respond to any questions that may arise. 

Once your offer is accepted and you are under contract, we need a copy of the executed contract to begin preparing your loan.  We will review the purchase price, your down payment, and current interest rates to verify your loan structure.

We will then finalize your loan application, update loan pricing, and prepare a financial estimate to reflect the specifics of your transaction.  After you have reviewed and confirmed the details, we will register your loan and lock in your selected interest rate.

After finalizing your loan application, you will receive a package of loan disclosure documents for your signature.  We will also provide you with a list of the additional supporting documents we will need to submit for loan approval (to the extent you did not already provide them as part of the Pre-Qualification Process).

At the same time we are launching the loan process, your real estate agent will often be scheduling a home inspection.  The purpose of the home inspection is to identify any major issues with the home prior to purchase.  In that same timeframe, we will typically need to begin the process of ordering an appraisal to verify the fair market value.

When an appraisal is required by the lender, it represents an up front cost to the borrower.  We are careful to order it early enough to meet our deadlines, but not too early in case there are deal-breaker issues identified with the home inspection.

As soon as we have all of the supporting documents, we will submit your loan package for review by an underwriter.  The underwriter will evaluate the documents and determine if there are any additional “conditions” to approving your loan.  It is rare to have no additional conditions, so expect to be asked for a few more documents at this point.

Once all loan approval conditions have been satisfied and the appraisal has been reviewed, we will receive your final loan approval.  This means that you are past underwriting and the loan is “Clear to Close.”

The Title Company will then start preparing the loan closing documents that will show the final costs and the amount of funds you’ll need to bring to the closing table.  Once we finalize all of the figures, the “Closing Disclosure” is submitted for approval.  You will also receive a copy and, if everything looks good, you are ready to close.