If you are thinking of buying a home or refinancing, there is a list of financial items you need for that interview. The problem with many lenders, brokers and loan originators is that they do not want to inconvenience the consumer by too much paper work. Truthfully in most cases, I can interview someone over the phone, based on my decades of experience, and usually validate what I am told pretty well by the type and way I make my inquiries. However, if the client wants to be formally pre-approved, without exception, I want to see certain financial items and confirm what will be seen by my underwriters, before they see it. Frequently, inexperienced “lender sales people” will ask for the minimum amount of information and hand out the proverbial pre-approval letter. The client goes into escrow, receives an appraisal and the file goes to “final” underwriting. Then that is where it gets ugly. For some reason a stream of more paperwork is requested and often that paperwork is what unravels the former “pre-approval”. Cancel the moving van, cancel the new address stamp, and oh, I don’t want to buy a home anymore! This was a nightmare….
So let me help. This is a brief summary of items needed for a purchase transaction:
- Most recent paystubs for one month
- Last two year’s w-2’s
- Last two year’s Federal Tax returns, all pages
- Last two months bank or other asset statements where the down payment is deposited
This is a simple list for a purchase transaction for a wage earner. Refinancing is slightly different, self employment is slightly different and retirement income is slightly different. Clients with multiple pieces of real estate is slightly different. But this is the basic list, and with these items, plus a lender pulled credit report, a pre-approval letter can be issued quickly and confidently. While one paystub and one years tax return and one bank statement “might” work, it is unkown unless answers to several questions are answered properly, possibly not requiring the additional information. But this is not for the inexperienced lender to decide. So, have this information ready and when you have your interview the lender will have a much more complete picture of your qualifications. Soon I will post an article on how consumers should shop for a loan. You may be surprised! If you would like to discuss this further or be pre-approved for a mortgage loan, or have a friend with that need, please contact me at 949-428-3099 or don@donparsons.com