For anything in life, there is a right way to do things and there is a wrong way. The same holds true for mortgage pre-approvals. There is a right way and there is a wrong way. Truth betold, it is never perfect. Sometimes someone comes passing through as they are driving down the road, fall in love and want to place an offer on the spot; however, that is not the norm and the following documents are what every buyer should turn over in order to get a GOOD pre-approval.
I do hear a lot of complaints from buyers asking, "It's just a pre-approval". Ultimately, everyone wants to know if they will get a loan. So here are the documents to tell people to put together, or at the very least, tell the borrower to do everything the loan officer says as soon as they say it. Naturally, eliminate the ones below which do not apply to the borrower.
1) 2016 & 2017 tax returns (all pages)
2) 2016 & 2017 w2's & 1099's
3) 2 most recent paystubs dated within the last 30 days
4) Last 2 months of all bank statements (all pages)
5) Divorce Decree (all pages)
6) Bankruptcy papers (all pages)
7) Child support enforcement order
8) Most recent 401k Statement (all pages)
9) If they own a home, monthly mortgage statement and copy of homeowners insurance and HOA bill
10) Clear and legible copy of drivers license
11) 2016 & 2017 business tax returns (all pages)
12) Pension awards letter
13) Social security awards letter
14) YTD Profit & Loss for 2018 if you are self-employed
15) Accurate address history of where you have lived for the last 2 years
16) Accurate employment history of where you have been employed for the last 2 years
17) 1-2 sentences on any prior bankruptcy or foreclosure or judgements
18) 1-2 sentences on any collections or credit card or auto lates within the last 24 months
19) Income tax repayment plans (all pages)
20) Payment plans on any judgements (all pages)
21) 1 sentence explanation on any deposits other than payroll deposits into the bank accounts
If you have a borrower call me for a pre-approval, this is the documentation which I am going to tell them to provide UP FRONT. For any customers who do not wish to do that up front, I wish them the best and tell them to go to somewhere else. I refuse to waste my time and YOUR time (the agent) working with someone and finding out something later which we could have found out sooner (at the time of pre-approval or application) all because someone does not want to put some effort into getting a loan. I have no problem saying NO to people. Many loan officers are afraid to upset customers with this list of items, so they just pull credit, give the Pre-Approval and then deal with getting everything after finding a home -- that is a major problem which plagues my industry. Anyways, I can be reached at 1-216-780-1103.
I am licensed in Ohio, Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Virginia, Maine, Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, California, Arizona, Washington -- soon to be North Carolina and New Jersey. I will answer my phone faster than your in-house loan officer who shares space with you (call me and find out). Also, I am a loan officer, my company is the lender (all of my underwriting staff, processing, closing, funding and post-closing is in my office right at my fingertips) and I own the company (so I have a little bit of say in how fast things can get done when needed).
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