Many factors are considered, but the main ones reviewed are your credit score (to see if you’ve paid back your other obligations as expected in the past), your debt-to-income ratio (to determine if you have enough income to support this new house payment), and your funds availability (to see if you can cover the required down payment and closing costs for the loan program you select).
You can run numbers using the App’s mortgage calculators so you can begin to associate the sales prices of homes with the house payment that would accompany that sales price.
Before you seriously start shopping for a home it’s best to get your pre-approval* in hand. Why?
Three reasons:
*Pre-approved is defined as your having completed a full loan application, our having reviewed a full credit report, and our having secured an automated underwriting approval.
Absolutely. I love, love, love having guests in for a “sit down at the desk, talk it all through, and review all options” meeting. After all, it’s not every day that you invest one-third or even one-half of a million dollars (or more) in a home purchase. We’ll cover things in our 30 to 45 minutes together that we would never think to discuss on a phone conversation, and I’ll take you through things that no amount of web searching can match. My expertise and guidance, based on 2,200 loan approvals over 16 years is happily and willingly shared with you to help make your home-buying experience a great one, from start to finish. Just reach out and we’ll set up a time. I’m delighted, in this time of getting all answers from our smartphones, how many people take me up on this offer. Plus, you’ll meet the entire team that will serve you, making it a much more personal experience going forward. Come see us!
As for the time needed to submit your information to us, if you use our online forms, it’s generally completed in about 15 minutes. Once you submit both forms to us, we almost always get back to you the same day, often in just an hour or two.
This is a complimentary service, preparing options for you, generating the pre-approval letter, and giving you guidance on the best loan scenario that would work in your situation. There is no cost to you.
It’s simply our opportunity to try out for you to see if we can be fortunate enough to earn your business and be selected as will your lender of choice.
I want to perform my job at the highest level for you and give you a reliable answer when you explore your level of qualification. After 16 years in the business I’ve created the Step Two form to allow me to gather and focus on the essential yet nuanced portions of your qualification picture, taking the guesswork and worry out of the process. No one likes surprises (including me) so we go ahead and ask the right questions, upfront, so we don’t get tripped up on anything later.
Let’s face it.
There are 500 other loan officers that could provide the financing for your upcoming purchase that I’m ultimately competing with as you make the decision on who will earn your business.
Among the final loan officers you’re considering, my plan is to give you the following: The most detailed and clear numbers, showing you 14 key line items that give you the FULL financing picture that others won’t take the time to provide, to share the most helpful website among your final loan officers for guiding you through the process, the most personalized videos to simplify and explain what can at times be a complex process, an open-door offer to meet in person at any time, and the positive anticipation that it will all go very well based on the reviews of the others who have gone before you.
We will do these things while always acting promptly, eliminating surprises, and covering you up with friendliness at every step in the process.
We love what we do and we’re grateful for the chance you’re giving us as you consider your options. If you’re open-minded to giving us an opportunity, we’ll be sure to provide you with a high-level experience.
You can submit your forms (both the online application as well as the Step Two form) directly in the App. It’s convenient and ready to go whenever you are.
Generally, the interest rate is locked when these things are firm: the address of the property you are purchasing, the forms for both Step One and Step Two are submitted, and the closing date is known by all parties.
Rates move up and down every day and often times during the same day. Just as a stock price rises and falls, so do interest rates on a daily basis. Rate quotes are good until the interest rate moves again, and sometimes that is within just a few minutes. Rate quotes are snapshots of what is available at the time it is checked and provided.
You lock the rate by confirming to me that you are ready to lock in. This is done verbally, where you express interest in locking a rate and I then confirm with you by asking, “Are you ready for me to lock in this rate for you?” Once you say “Yes,” we immediately perform the rate lock.
In a nutshell, almost everything in the home financing process once we start is time-sensitive. At this stage, we need you to both e-Sign the documents that can be e-Signed and then “wet-sign” with actual pen on paper the small number of documents that have not yet been cleared for e-signature use. Please have both sets back to us within 48 hours of receipt. We take lots of action on your approval once the “wet signed” documents are received in our office, but largely wait on you without moving your process forward if there is a delay in getting the signatures back to us.
Most of the documents in the initial disclosure package are informational and your signature on these documents confirms that you have received and reviewed the information. In most cases, minor clerical changes can be made to the documents updates after you have confirmed receipt. However, there are some changes that may need to be corrected. Please reach out to us and let us know the correction and we will determine if it is something that can be corrected after you sign. The original document set, even with the identified error, is time-sensitive from a Compliance standpoint, and we want to continue to move forward, but we don’t want to have you sign something you do not feel comfortable with.
If you are a salaried income earner, please gather the following:
If you are self-employed, we will also need the following:
If other custom things are needed based on your specific qualification level we’ll let you know in the customized list we provide everyone.
When an underwriter grants initial loan approval, it’s an indication that you are going to be able to buy this home. We are saying “Yes” and you’ll be closing. The initial approval is called a “Conditional Approval” as the underwriter is asking to get clarifying answers to questions coming out of the review of your financial documents. Once you provide those answers, you move from “Conditional Approval” to “Full Approval” or, as we like to say, “Clear to Close.”
Yes, we gather lots of details in the course of the loan approval process, but we do so because we are required to follow all of the national underwriting guidelines issued by Fannie Mae, FHA, VA and others.
If you’re thinking, “This screenshot will work great” please reconsider, though we do admit we wish it was that easy (as we would like it, too). There are no cases where we can take a screenshot you provide and use it in the loan approval process. If you’re within your online banking website, for instance, and you’re getting us an updated balance in your accounts, resist the desire to do a screenshot. Instead, please “Print to PDF” from your browser with the headers and footers settings turned to the “On” position. This way, when the PDF is created, it will show the date, the web address you are visiting, and other helpful info that further authenticates the source of the info you’re providing. Screenshots don’t provide those things and per underwriting guidelines cannot be used.
The Chrome browser is best for getting these items to print. Go to “Print” then “+ More Settings” and select the checkbox for “Print Headers and Footers”
Yes, and thank you for remembering that at the outset we directed you to not make any purchases or do anything that would trigger a credit report pull. Now, as you are lining up the details of your move-in, the power company and cable company are saying they need to look at your credit report. In this case, this is allowed and will create no issues with your loan approval.
Why? Because they are not lending you money, they are only checking to make sure you have a history of meeting your obligations. This kind of pull is a “soft pull” and will not impact the mortgage process.
In a financing process where virtually every part of it is time sensitive, this is the most time sensitive of them all so please place focus on this one.
Federal guidelines mandate that you receive your numbers for closing at least three days in advance.
(FYI only, Sunday is not used in this calculation but Saturday actually is used in the three-day count.)
Why it is so important: If the Closing Disclosure is not electronically signed by you the required three days in advance, the closing will be unable to occur as scheduled.
Our closing department will generate your Closing Disclosure and send it to you on the appointed day for your review and electronic signature. When all borrowers electronically sign this document, it is automatically timestamped, confirming in any downstream audit process that we delivered it to you within the required time-frame.
Ultimately, this is a simple step, but a vital one. When the Closing Disclosure is delivered to you, please take the three or four minutes to review and e-Sign it to play your part in keeping everything on track.
Your closing will then be right around the corner!
You’ll send the funds via Wire Transfer. Personal checks, cash, and Cashier’s Checks are not acceptable forms payment for your purchase.
Most closings take, from first signature to keys in your hand, about 45 to 50 minutes.
FIll out the form below to send us your question and we’ll get back to you right away.
Credit and collateral are subject to approval. Terms and conditions apply. Rates, program terms and conditions are subject to change without notice. Some programs have geographic restrictions. This is not a commitment to lend.