MBF and Financials- Getting Pre Approved

[Disclaimer: I am not a licensed mortgage officer. If you would like to know the inside nitty-gritties of the home loan process, please contact a lending professional at MetroBrokers Financial (info at end of post), or any lender of your choosing.]

 

[All my blogs are written without the assistance of AI. I have nothing against it, I just wanted y’all to know my own brain and my own synapses created these posts. This has been my PSA :D] 

 

So, you’d like to buy a home. 

You’ve found an awesome agent (more about that here) who you’re looking forward to working with, and now you’re ready to get pre-approved.

I know that might sound like a scary undertaking, people poking into your financials and asking all sorts of invasive questions (little side note here: As your Realtor, I am not privy to nor do I learn about your personal financial information. All I know is how much you qualify for, so I know what the budget is. Everything else is mortgage lender territory) and I understand that the process can seem incredibly overwhelming.

That’s why you’ve found me 🙂

I have a handy little checklist to share with you, so you know just what you have to share and have available to a mortgage lender. Also, there’s a helpful list of DON’Ts tacked onto it as well. You’d be surprised at the things you can’t do when applying for a loan. It can throw off your debt-to-income ratio and disqualify you for a loan that was clear to close, and believe me– no one wants that heart break.

 

1.) Home Loan Application Checklist

 

                                  Do’s and Don’ts of Applying for a Home Loan:

 

• Provide your last 30 days of pay stubs. Provide W-2’s for the past two years 
• Provide all pages and schedules of last two years personal tax returns 
• If self employed, provide all pages and schedules of last two years business tax returns and corporate K-1’s 
• If retired, provide benefit award letter, last two years 1099’s, and all pages and schedules of last two years tax returns 
• If any rental income is received, provide copy of current lease agreement 
• If VA and active duty personnel, copy of Statement of Service Letter and Off Base Housing Authority Letter Proof of Assets Information 
• Provide ALL pages of most recent 2 months statements for all accounts; including all checking, savings, stocks, IRA, 401k, etc. 
• If funds to close will come from a gift, complete the gift letter and the following: (see gift requirements) a. from the donor – bank statements showing the funds in the donor’s account and a copy of the check from the donor’s account b. from the borrower – a copy of the deposit slip showing the gift check deposited into your account 
• If funds to close will come from sale of home, copy of Hud-1 from sale of home and deposit slip showing proceeds deposited into bank account Additional Documentation 
• Copy of driver’s license and social security card 
• Copy of divorce decree (if applicable)
• If applicable, a full copy of bankruptcy papers, including all schedules and discharge, they will also want a credit explanation letter explaining why you had your bankruptcy and that the problem has cleared up
• If you are a Veteran, or a spouse of a deceased Veteran you need a Certificate of Eligibility or copy of VA DD214 
• Hazard Insurance Agent’s name, address, and phone number – obtain new insurance policy within 48 hours of loan application. 
• Explanation Letter for any late payments on credit report or collections or judgments. 
• Explanation Letter for any credit inquiries in the past 120 days and if new credit was opened as a result. 

 

DON’T DO’s – Some of the most common mistakes borrowers make prior to loan application: 

1. Don’t pay off collection accounts 
2. Don’t move funds around 
3. Don’t deposit funds that are not your payroll into your accounts 
4. Don’t make any purchases such as furniture 
5. Don’t open any new credit accounts 
6. Don’t quit your job 
7. Don’t think that you can send items needed a few days before closing and still meet closing date 

 

• Make sure the copies you send are legible. 
• Do not include documents that have whiteout or other alterations. 
• Submit the entire requested document and include all pages (even blank ones) 

 

2.) Pre-Approval Timeline

Once you submit all your paperwork to the loan officer (paystubs, w-2s and so forth mentioned above), you can get your Pre-Approval in hand within the same business day. The biggest hold up is getting all your paperwork together and straight in order to send to your loan officer. Once it’s sent, the loan officer is pretty much just verifying that what you told him or her is true. Once verified, you get notified of what you are approved for… and then we can go shopping 😀 

 

 

3.) A Word about Pre-Approval vs. Pre-Qualification

These terms are sometimes used interchangeably in the real estate industry, but they’re not. A Pre-Approval is the strongest position you can come from, because all of your documentation has been verified and it’s basically saying, yes, we have confirmed you work at ABC Construction and make *this much* a year based on your pay stubs. We can CONFIRM that. 

A pre-qualification says you’ve TOLD US that… and we’re taking your word for it. Based on what you said you make from the Butterfly Ranch counting larvae part time, you qualify for a 2 million dollar loan.

Two very different positions, but they are used interchangeably like vase and vah-z.

Needless to say, at MBF you get a Pre-Approval. Nobody is out here to waste anyone else’s time running buyers around when they’ll inevitably get their hearts broken because in reality they couldn’t qualify for a pack of gum (no offense intended to anyone) (and just because you don’t qualify for a pack of gum RIGHT NOW, doesn’t mean you can’t in a couple of years. We can talk about that in another post if you’d like).

 

These are the general guidelines for applying for a loan, and what you need on hand to give to your mortgage lender of choice. Here at Metro Brokers, we have some of the best lenders in the business, who know their product inside and out and whose standard procedure is to get you the best deal at the best interest rate for your situation. The Home Loan Checklist was created by them as a download for us agents to give out to our clients, and prospective clients, to help you in knowing what you need to send to your lender.

 

If you’d like a PDF of the Home Loan Checklist, click here, and I’ll send one to your inbox!

 

Now that you’re Pre-Approved, it’s time to go shopping for a place to call home.

The next step is submitting an offer.

 

(Special shout out  and a sincere thank you to Miss Yvonne Bubienko! You took the time out of your day to answer my questions about parts of the loan process that I wasn’t privy to. Thanks ❤ )

MBF Loan Officers:

YVONNE BUBIENKO 

NMLS #1669531 | License #64180 

678.551.3154 

yvonne.bubienko@metrobrokers.com

 

CAROLE HODGE 

NMLS #658880 | License #60741 

404.863.9537 

carole.hodge@metrobrokers.com

 

SALLY THOMPSON 

NMLS #262414 | License #26683 

770.3174928

sally.thompson@metrobrokers.com

 

Now that you’re Pre-Approved, we’re ready to go shopping for a place to call home 🙂

Next step is submitting an offer.