Yes, applying for a mortgage loan before you find a home may be the best thing you could do! We'll issue a pre-qualification subject to income and asset review. You can use the pre-qualification letter to assure real estate brokers and sellers that you are a qualified buyer. Having a pre-qualification for a mortgage may give more weight to your offer. Once you have a fully executed contract, send your loan officer a copy to get the process started!

There is no charge to you for the credit information we'll access with your permission to evaluate your application online. You will only be charged for a credit report upon closing your transaction.

First, you'll complete our online application.

The application will ask you questions about the home and your finances, and takes less than 20 minutes to complete. A disclosure packet will be automatically issued as soon as you've finished the application and your loan request will be assigned to a loan officer.

Your Loan Officer is a mortgage expert and will provide help and guidance along the way. They will ask you for any information necessary to make a decision about your loan.

An Appraisal and Title insurance will be necessary. We'll order the appraisal from a licensed appraiser who is familiar with home values in your area. If you're purchasing a home, we'll work with the real estate agent to ensure the title work is ordered as soon as possible. If you are refinancing we'll take care of ordering the title work for you. We'll use the title insurance to confirm the legal status of your property and to prepare the closing documents.

Your Loan Officer will keep you informed every step of the way.

Once your loan is approved, we'll contact you to schedule your loan closing. If you are purchasing a home, we'll coordinate the closing with the title company.

The closing will take place at the office of a title company or attorney in your area who will act as our agent. A few days before closing, we will send your closing disclosure showing your final figures.

If you're selling your current home to purchase your new home, we'll ask you to provide a copy of the settlement or closing statement you'll receive at the closing to verify that your current mortgage has been paid in full and that you'll have sufficient funds for our closing. Often the closing of your current home is scheduled for the same day as the closing of your new home. If that's the case, we'll just ask you to bring your settlement statement with you to your new mortgage closing.

If you've had a bankruptcy or foreclosure in the past, it may affect your ability to get a new mortgage. Generally we will require that four to seven years have passed since the bankruptcy or foreclosure. It is also important that you've re-established an acceptable credit history. There are many credit factors in the decision making process that determine eligibility.

Income of self-employed borrowers is verified by obtaining copies of personal (and business, if applicable) federal tax returns for the most recent two year period.

We'll review and average the net income from self-employment that's reported on your tax returns to determine the income that can be used to qualify. We won't be able to consider any income that hasn't been reported as such on your tax returns. A full two year history of self-employment is required to verify that your income is stable.

In order for bonus, overtime, or commission income to be considered, you must have a two year history of receiving it and it must be likely to continue. We'll need to obtain copies of W-2 statements for the previous two years and a recent pay stub to verify this type of income. If a major part of your income is commission earnings, we may need to obtain copies of recent tax returns to verify the amount of business-related expenses, if any. We'll average the amounts you have received over the past two years to calculate the amount that can be considered qualifying income for the transaction.

We will ask for copies of your recent pension check stubs, or bank statement if your pension or retirement income is deposited directly in your bank account. Sometimes it will also be necessary to verify that this income will continue for at least three years since some pension or retirement plans do not provide income for life. This can usually be verified with a copy of your award letter.

If you own rental properties, we'll ask for the most recent two year's federal tax return to verify your rental income. We'll review the Schedule E of the tax return to verify your rental income. If you haven't owned the rental property for a complete tax year, we'll ask for a copy of any lease agreements you've executed to determine if rental income can be used.

Information about child support, alimony, or separate maintenance income does not need to be provided unless you wish to have it considered for repaying this mortgage loan. If you wish to use these types of income, please speak with your loan officer.

Typically, income from a second job will be considered if a two year history of secondary employment can be verified.