Checklist for Documents You Need When Applying for a Home Loan

Published by nora | Filed under Buyer / Seller Tips, Miscellaneous, Mortgage / Finance, Real Estate

Gathering and organizing your financial documents before applying for a home loan benefit you in many ways. As you gather your data, you’ll see things you probably haven’t considered before, such as moving to a better-performing mutual fund, or you’ll notice errors you need to correct, such as erroneous items on your statements of accounts.

Seeing your financial papers and your actual financial situation can also either prompt you to cut further on expenses or to inspire you to add more to a certain investment that has been increasing your returns through the years.

For mortgage loan purposes, a complete set of documents will enable you to fill out your mortgage application form quickly and accurately, as you don’t have to guess data such as names and addresses of employers, bank names and account numbers.

The documents you’ll gather and prepare will show data about your:

• Income
• Assets
• Debts
• Other Personal Data

Income Documents and Information Needed

If you’re employed:

• Latest pay stubs covering the last 30 days
• W-2 forms for the last two years
• Names and addresses of your employers for the last two years, including dates of employment and gross monthly pay

If you’re self-employed:

• Business and personal tax returns for the last two years
• Profit and loss statement and balance sheet for the last 12 months, signed by you and an accountant

If you wish to include other types of income to increase the amount you can borrow, obtain documents as proofs, such as:

• Statements of accounts from brokers for the past two years
• Income tax returns showing interest income, dividend income or rental income
• Bonuses, overtime, child support and alimony, disability payments can be considered if you show proofs that they will continue for a long period of time.

Asset Documents

• Bank statements covering your checking accounts and savings accounts for the last three months
• Statement of account from your credit union
• Statements of accounts from your investments, such as mutual funds, 401(K), stocks, bonds, individual retirement accounts and life insurance

Debt Documents

Latest statements of accounts from your creditors for loans such as:

• Credit card loans
• Student loans
• Car loans
• Canceled rent checks for the last 12 months, including name and address of your landlord
• Other Personal Data
• The following are also needed in filling out your mortgage loan application:
• Social Security Number
• Addresses of your residences for the last two years
• Permanent residency card issued by INS, if you’re a resident alien
• Copy of your transcript of records if you were a fulltime student within the past two years

With these documents, you can make more accurate estimates of the price range you’d be targeting when searching for homes, and your lender can give you the pre-approval you need in making an offer to buy your home.