DO
1. Save ALL pay stubs. A mortgage application requires one month of consecutive pay stubs.
2. Save ALL bank statements. A mortgage application requires two months of your most recent bank
statements. You must provide every page
of each statement even if the last page is blank!
3. Keep credit card balances around 30% of the available limit.
Once you exceed this amount it
could lower your credit scores!
4.
Provide documents to your loan
officer as quickly as possible to avoid closing delays.
You will need to provide documents
before and during the mortgage application process.
5. Check your email frequently for communications. Questions
and documents will be emailed to you during the mortgage process.
6. Shop for homeowner’s insurance right away after your purchase agreement
is accepted. Provide the name, phone and email address of the homeowner’s insurance
agent that you obtained your quote from to your loan officer as soon as
possible.
7. Let your loan officer know any changes to your debts or income.
This could positively or
negatively affect your debt ratio.
8. Be careful with “fixer uppers”. Mortgage lenders are looking for properties to be “move-in
condition”. So, if the property is
missing light fixtures, kitchen cabinets, sinks, carpet/flooring, has a damp
basement, water stains on the ceiling, etc.
There is a good chance that those items will cause appraisal and
underwriting issues.
DON’T
1. Deposit any funds that do not come from your employer without speaking
with your loan officer. Most other deposits are not acceptable to be used towards your closing
costs. Gifts from immediate family members are okay with a fully executed gift
letter and a proper paper trail. Retirement
funds are acceptable with a documented paper trail and the terms and conditions
of withdrawal from your retirement account holder.
2. Transfer money from one account to another unless absolutely necessary.
This can cause delays as each
transfer must be proven to come from one of your other accounts.
3. Open any new accounts or have your credit pulled.
This will negatively affect your
debt ratio and possibly result in a denial!
4. Change jobs if at all possible. You will need to provide a pay stub with one month year to date
earnings which may cause a delay in the processing of your loan application.
5. Co-sign for another loan. This will negatively affect your debt ratio and possibly result in a
denial!
6. Miss any payments on accounts you currently have.
One missed payment could lower
your credit score as much as 100 points!
7. Consolidate credit cards. This will cause a delay in waiting for the new credit card statement
that the other cards were consolidated to and proving the other accounts are
paid off.
8. Payoff any collection accounts unless your loan officer specifically asks
you to. This
could actually lower your credit score!
9. Close credit card accounts. This could actually lower your credit score!
