In these days of tougher lending standards, getting a mortgage loan approval can be extremely stressful and frustrating. Often, however, much of the stress is self-inflicted and unnecessary. If you follow these five simple rules and procedures, your loan is far likelier to close on time with minimum stress. Please take a moment to read these simple rules and understand the requirements.
1. A fast turn-around: This is the most important rule. A low-stress loan approval is all about time, or lack thereof. So when we ask you for documents to support your income, assets, employment and other factors as part of a loan applications, get those items back to us in two days or less. Make it your highest priority. Letting the loan applications languish on your kitchen counter means less time to deal with curveballs and snags that send your stress (and ours) through the roof. You loan is NOT the only one we are working on, so if we have to drop something else to backtrack with you, the whole system gets bogged down.
2. Give us EXACTLY what we ask for: When we ask you for your entire Federal tax return or complete account statement, give us exactly what we ask for, the first time. We’re asking for your documents a certain way, because that’s what we absolutely have to have to get the loan approved. We have no choice but to comply with the loan documentation requirements of the various loan programs, so neither do you. Giving us only part of what we ask for wastes everyone’s time (see #1 above) and causes unnecessary delays, expensive relocking fees and increased stress.
3. Don’t incur any new debt: Once you have made loan application, DO NOT go out and apply for any more debt! No new car, no new furniture, no nothing until AFTER the closing. Your credit will be rechecked the day of the closing, and if any new loans pop up, or your credit card balances rise, you may end up with your loa un-approved. On a purchase, that could mean you lose the house (and your earnest money). On a refinance, having to send the loan back to underwriting means expensive loan lock extension fees. Just say NO to any new debt or even credit inquiries during the loan approval process.
4. Don’t move your money around: Once you’ve applied for the loan, don’t shift your financial assets from one account to another. We have to have a paper trail for all financial assets on the loan application. Discuss with us the timing and method of liquidations to come up with your cash for closing.
5. Don’t disappear! A surefire way to ask for trouble is to schedule your second honeymoon, your long-awaited wilderness camping trip, your “time away from it all” during the loan application process. Disappearing while your loan is being processed is an irresistible invitation to the gremlins of mortgage mayhem, one that is always accepted. We will try to track you down in the Australian Outback, but if you are incommunicado when we need that one more account statement to satisfy the underwriter, the approval process stops dead in its tracks until you are back in the saddle.
