Preparation Tips Ahead of Mortgage Pre-Approval, Part 2

In part one of this two-part blog series, we went over some of the basics for preparing yourself for mortgage pre-approval. Pre-approval is a valuable process that helps you understand and obtain purchasing power in advance of hitting the housing market, and having your finances in order before applying for it is a valuable pursuit.

At Altius Mortgage and our partners at Mortgage Ogden, we’re happy to walk any of our clients through pre-approval or other processes for our various mortgage loan programs. In today’s part two of our series, we’ll go over a few other valuable areas of preparation for pre-approval, including several important documents you’ll need to have on-hand and a couple other themes we recommend.

Documentation

During the pre-approval process, you may be asked for several different documents by the lender or loan originator. Some document areas to consider and keep handy as you enter this process:

• Income and employment documents: You will need to supply various information on your income and employment, including recent federal and state tax returns and W-2 forms, rental income and any self-employment income (if applicable).
• Assets: You’ll also generally be asked to provide documentation on your current assets, including two months of recent bank statements and basics on all retirement, brokerage and investment accounts.
• Debts: Lenders will also want to know about your current debt, including your monthly debt (which can be used to calculate debt-to-income ratio, a vital factor) and any outstanding real estate debt you carry.
• Others: Other documents you may need could include proof of recent rent payments, any bankruptcy or foreclosure documents that apply to you, divorce or child support orders if applicable, and gift letters if you plan to use gifted funds as part of a down payment.

Begin Saving

Speaking of a down payment, it’s another area you can begin thinking about during the pre-approval process. Pre-approval will give you a good idea of the sort of down payment ranges you might be looking at – use this information to begin your savings process, if you haven’t done so already that is. The more you have saved up once it’s time to make a down payment, the better your interest rates will be for the life of the mortgage.

Speak to a Loan Officer

Finally, be sure to speak to one of our friendly, experienced loan officers during the pre-approval process. We’ll assist with numerous potential areas, from how your down payment figure will affect monthly payments to how you can proceed with imperfect credit and many others.

For more on navigating the pre-approval process optimally, or to learn about any of our mortgage loans or refinancing services, speak to the staff at Altius Mortgage today.