Have you ever purchased a piece of real estate and had to apply for a loan or mortgage? Probably yes.

Most of us don’t have hundreds of thousands of dollars sitting around to purchase a house out-right.

Which means the majority of us, especially those of us who want to take advantage of leverage, need to qualify for a home loan or mortgage to cover the remaining balance after our cash down payment.

Lenders can be super picky!

Oftentimes they ask for clarification on certain things you have already given them. They may ask for the latest information on accounts and financial statements multiple times depending how long it has been since the process was first initiated.

If you are like me then you probably were a little frustrated with your loan officer because they didn’t tell you all the information that would be needed by the lender. Instead they kept coming back to you asking for bits of information at a time.

What if you were able to be proactive and have all the information they could potentially ask for? You would be way ahead of the game and save some time and headache!

Speed counts!

This is super important when you are putting in offers on properties in a competitive market. This will help you be prepared to move quickly when the right deal comes along.

If only there were a simple Home Loan Checklist that would make the whole process much easier and less stressful for everyone.

My goal here is simple. I am assembling a mortgage loan checklist for you that you can use for your next real estate purchase.

Feel free to print it, save it, or share it!

Home Loan Checklist

1. Most recent 30 days worth of pay stubs for all parties who will be on the loan.
2. Possibly provide employer phone numbers for employment duration verification.
3. Most recent 2 months of bank statements on all accounts. If the statement shows pages 1 to 6 then all six are needed.
4. Most recent quarter or most recent 2 months of other assets of value including 401k or IRA accounts and cash value in any life insurance policies.
5. Two years of the most recent tax returns.
6. Mortgage statements for all properties listed on your credit. In and out of your state or territory.
7. Name, email, fax, phone number of the insurance company who will be insuring the property.
8. You will want to contact your insurance provider to let them know they will be contacted by the lender/third party about the purchase of a new property. This will also serve as an initiation of a new policy.
9. Front and Back copies of the “earnest money” check once it has cleared your account.
10. Copy of up to date drivers license and social security card.
11. If applicable you will need the wire transfer process/instructions for the account and institution you will be using to send the funds.
12. If you are partnering then you will need to provide the account where the monies are seasoned in.
13. It is common that banks will like to see at least 6 months worth of cash reserves held in a secure account.
14. Student loan monthly obligation documentation
15. Any monies that have been “gifted” to you by a family member, friend, or organization needs supporting documentation stating that the money is in fact a gift and no repayment is expected.

Typically your debt to income ratio is most attractive to lenders if it is below 36%. However the lower it is the better it is for you and your lender!

(debt-to-income ratio is equal to your monthly debt divided by monthly income x 100 for a percentage)  DTI = monthly debt / monthly income x 100

I’ll continue to add more items as they come up! Please be aware that this list is not exhaustive and your situation may require different information than what is listed here.

If you have any that I could add to the list just leave it in a comment below and I’ll incorporate it!

Leave a comment below!

Be Prepared with a Home Loan Checklist By Joe Nielsen