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Organize your documents
If you are buying or refinancing a home
1. If you are salaried: provide your most recent W-2 and one
month of paystubs OR if you are self-employed: provide
your most recent tax return.
If you own rental property, please provide rental agreements
or your most recent tax return(if the investment property is included on it). Please also
provide your most recent months bank statements for each bank, stock
and mutual fund account(include the entire statement).Also
provide recent copies of any stock brokerage or IRA/401K
accounts that you may have.
If refinancing, also provide: a copy of your title insurance policy, a copy of your survey, and a copy of your home owners policy.
If you are NOT a US citizen, provide us with a copy of
your green card (front & back), or if you are NOT
a permanent resident provide us with your H-1 or L-1 visa.
Get Qualified
Getting qualified before you apply for a loan can help
you understand how much you can borrow.
When buying a house, you may get pre-qualified or pre-approved.
You can typically get pre-qualified over the phone or
on the Internet in a few minutes. A pre-qualification
is not as beneficial as a pre-approval where you have
to go through a more rigorous process which includes verification
of your credit, income, assets and liabilities. It is
highly recommended that you get pre-approved before you
start looking for a house. This will help you:
1. Find out how much house you can afford.
2. Puts you in a stronger position when you are negotiating
with the seller, because the seller knows that your
loan is already approved.
3. Helps you close quickly, since your loan is already
approved.
Shop loan programs and rates
To shop for a loan you will need to:
1. Think about how long you plan to keep the loan. If you
plan to sell the house in a few years you may want to
consider an adjustable or balloon loan. On the other
hand, if you plan to keep the house for a longer time,
you may want to look at fixed loans.
2. Understand the relationship between rates and points.
Points are considered to be prepaid interest and are
tax deductible. Each point is equal to one percent of
the loan. So for example 1 point on a $150,000 loan
is $1,500. The more points you pay, the lower the rate
you will get.
3. Compare different programs. Shopping for a loan can
be difficult. With so many programs to choose from,
each of which has different rates, points and fees,
it's hard to figure out which program is best for you.
That's where an experienced loan officer can help you
make a decision that's best for you.
Obtain Loan Approval
Once your loan application has been received we will
start the loan approval process immediately. This involves
verifying your:
1. Credit history
2. Employment history
3. Assets including your bank accounts, stocks, mutual
fund and retirement accounts
4. Property value
Based on your specific situation, additional documents
or verifications may be required. To improve your chances
of getting a loan approval:
- Fill out the loan application completely.
- Respond promptly to any requests for additional documents.
This is especially critical if your rate is locked or
if you plan to close by a certain date.
- Do not make any major purchases. Do not buy a car,
furniture or another house till your loan is closed.
Anything that causes your debts to increase might have
an adverse affect on your current application.
- Do not move money into your bank accounts unless it
can be traced. If you are receiving money from friends,
family or other relatives, please contact us.
- Do not go out of town around the closing date. If
you do plan to be out of town when your loan is expected
to close, you may sign a power of attorney, to authorize
another individual to sign on your behalf.
- In most cases your loan can be approved within 24-48 hours.
Close the Loan
After your loan is approved, you will be required to
sign the final loan documents. This will normally take
place in front of a notary public at a title insurance company. Be prepared to:
- Bring a cashiers check for your down payment and
closing costs if required. Personal checks are normally
not accepted.
- Review the final loan documents. Make sure that the
interest rate and loan terms are what you were promised.
Also, verify that the name and address on the loan documents
are accurate.
- Sign the loan documents.
Your loan will normally close shortly after you have
signed the loan documents. On refinance and home equity
loan transactions federal law requires that you have
3 days to review the documents before your loan transaction
can fund.
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