Your real estate connection for Anne Arundel County, Maryland - Home of Fort George G. Meade, Northrop Grumman, BWI and the U.S. Naval Academy
Maryland home buyers, this is one of those lessons learned from The School of Hard Knocks: Find and set aside important paperwork and financial information BEFORE you start packing to move! I've seen firsthand the unnecessary pressure and tension some of my relocating clients experienced when they failed to do this.
Yes, financing a home is so much easier today than it was a decade ago. In many cases, through an automated underwriting process, home buyers receive their "ok" within hours of making application. Sometimes, however, this loan approval requires follow-up with hard copies of documentation before the loan is actually funded. You don't want to discover this AFTER your important paperwork is packed in one of those 50 boxes in the garage.
Just to be safe, here's a list of important documentation and information* you should find and set aside before you pack or move:
1. 
Social Security number and birth date of each applicant.
2. Income verification for each applicant (2 most recent pay stubs with year-to-date earnings). If you are active-duty military, this includes basic pay and all allowances.
3. Tax information for each applicant (W-2's and tax returns for 2 most recent years).
4. Employment verification for each applicant (Employers names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses).
5. Bank account information for each applicant (2 most recent statements for all bank accounts).
6. Assets for each applicant (2 most recent statements for IRA's, 409K's, CD's, Stocks and Bonds; if you have individual investments, bring a brokerage statement with name of the stock, number of shares and the amount per share).
7. Personal property information for each applicant (cars, furniture, retirement accounts, jewelry, valuable collections and life insurance).
8. Credit information for each applicant (2 most recent statements for all creditors).
9. Current housing information for each applicant (If you own: address, market value, original loan amount, balance due, monthly payment amount, copy of listing if property is currently for sale; if you rent: copy of lease).
10. New home information (Receipt for earnest money deposit, copy of purchase contract and listing information).
11. Gift letter, if applicable (Letter from donor stating amount of gift and that money does not have to be repaid).
12. Self-employment information for each applicant (2 most recent years profit and loss statements and balance sheets), if applicable.
13. Divorce/separation information for each applicant (Copy of the divorce decree or maintenance statement and any amendments, 12-month history of child support and/or alimony payments), if applicable.
14. In-school/student verification (If you don't have 2 years of employment history, you will need transcript and/or diploma to verify student status) for each applicant, if applicable.
15. Rental property information for each applicant (For all rental property, you must provide addresses, copies of leases, account numbers, mortgage lenders' names, addresses, and phone numbers), if appicable.
* Source of List: Freddie Mac
16. Medical records for each member of the family.
17. School records for each of your children.
The last two items were added to this checklist at the suggestion of Mary Ellen Harvley. John Walters mentioned, in his comment to this post, that he took these items with him when he evacuated for Katrina. Now that is some food for thought - perhaps we all should gather together our important documents, whether we are moving or not! Thank you both.
I strongly recommend that you put originals of all this paperwork in a safe place where you and your movers won't pack it accidentally - preferably a fire-proof lockbox. Additionally, I suggest you bring on your house-hunting trip either photocopies OR a digital record on a CD or DVD, in case your lender needs it. Then, be sure to keep your original documents with you during your move.
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Margaret Woda, Crofton Maryland Real Estate
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I did the same thing when I evacuated for hurricane Katrina. I sure am glad I had my paperwork.