Home Loan Document Checklist

Prepare Ahead- Find Financials

Every lender requires personal documents to process and approve a home loan mortgage. The credit report provides some account names and account numbers, but this will give you the list to work on what is not easy to get.

Know that you’ll also need to provide more pay stubs and bank/broker statements as you get them during this process. Another credit check and employment verification are done the final day before closing the loan. Try very hard not to change a thing once you are approved.

What Your Lender Needs

• 2 Years of Tax Returns for every person on the loan. These need to be for last year and the year before
• Year-to-date P & L if you’re self-employed
• Business Tax Returns if applicable
• A month of paycheck stubs or check copies for each person signing the loan
• Two months of bank or credit union statements for both checking and savings accounts
• Lender, loan number, and amount owed on installment loans- student loans, cars, etc.
• Addresses where you’ve lived for the last five years
• Brokerage account statements- last two statements
• List of assets- Stocks, bonds, boats, homes, cars, where no debt is involved
• Your most recent 401(k) or other retirement account statement
• Documentation to verify additional income, such as Social Security, child support- paying/receiving or pensions

Lender Products and Approvals

There are many kinds of home loan products. Stated Income Home Loans have gone away, but there are home loans where you can show bank deposits to verify income and other creative programs.

Anything out of the mainstream box will result in a higher interest rate. If you need a referral to our favorite local lender, Bruce Singer, give us a call. After 25 years of doing Las Vegas real estate, someone has to impress us to keep our business.

Ideally, having a “Fully Approved Loan Qualification Letter” has a lot more weight than a “Pre-Qualification” letter. When there are multiple offers on a house, cash is king, fully approved loan is the second-best, and pre-qualified buyer is third. If you have time, do your loan app before looking at houses.

If you are not ready to buy a house quite yet, get your credit report and verify its accuracy. There is a problem with inaccurate reporting to the big 3 reporting agencies. Google free credit reports with FICO score of go to FreeCreditReport.com. Also, see our credit blogs listed below.

Be Prepared

When you are FULLY loan approved, your purchase power becomes similar to someone paying cash. You become able to remove the loan approval contingency and this is huge. Most people would rather sell to A PERSON rather than selling to an investor. In a city where investors buy homes, this may be important- especially in the $200,000 – $300,000 ish housing inventory.

If you cannot be FULLY loan approved, be pre-qualified with documents turned in to the lender. Getting documents may be a challenge for some people so now is when you need to start gathering your information.

Wasting your time viewing homes, making offers, and being turned down for an unknown factor is heartbreaking. Being prepared and being aware is the best way to buy a house.

This page was written by Kurt Grosse with Realty One Group. Kurt is a 25 year Southern Nevada Realtor, Retired Engineer, and Full-Time Protector. Give him a call today for a consultation and to find the home that’s right for you.

Related Blogs:   FICO Scores and Credit Basics or Improving Your Credit Score  and Home Loan Qualifying- Plan It