Getting an answer to your loan request can be as quick or as long as you make it. Whether you want to

or not, at some point along the way, you will hand over to your lender all the documents that are asked of you. Underwriting decisions are made faster when the lender has all the facts at hand. The longer it takes you to hand over the paperwork, the longer the period of indecision and anxiety. Let’s get you ready!! Start with gathering supplies from the below list. A general rule to follow is 1/2/2: Paystubs covering one

month of income, bank statements covering the most recent two months, and W-2’s and/or federal tax returns for the preceding two-

year period. Collect your documents, scan to PDF, individually label

each item and organize for easy access and delivery.

Comprehensive Mortgage Application Checklist

Determining the Need to Provide Federal Income Tax Returns Many times a lender will simply ask you to deliver “Proof of Income”. This

could mean anything. If your only income source is from salary, then you may only need to bring a pay stub and the preceding two-year’s W-2 forms. Expect to be asked for signed federal income tax returns if any of the following situations apply to you:

• Earn 25% or more of your income from commissions;

• Are employed by a family member;

• Are employed by interested parties to the purchase;

• Receive rental income from an investment property;

• Receive income from temporary or periodic employment (or unemployment) or employment that is subject to time limits, such as that of a contract employee or a tradesman;

• Receive income from capital gains, royalties, real estate, or other miscellaneous non-employment earnings reported on IRS Form 1099;

• Receive income that cannot otherwise be verified by an independent and knowledgeable source;

• Use foreign income to qualify;

• Use interest and dividend income to qualify; or

• Receive income from sole proprietorships, limited liability companies, partnerships, or corporations, or any other type of business structure where you have a 25% or greater ownership interest. If you have a 25% or greater ownership interest, you are considered self-employed for that entity. The lender must document and underwrite the loan application using the requirements for self-employed borrowers.

Supply List for Enhancing your Mortgage Experience:

• Mortgage Matters: Demystifying the Loan Approval Maze. 2015. RealWorks Press.

• Highlighter

• Post-it tabs

• Notebook, journal size

• Accordion style file folder

• Labels

• Flash drive

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Keep it Simple Scan all items onto a flash drive and follow these tips for delivering clear copies to your lender:

ü Set the scanner to save documents in PDF format. Most scanners are set to automatically save in either JPEG or TIFF formats. Change it.

ü Scan and label each item individually (as I've done on the checklist).

ü Keep all pages of a singularly dated document in one scanned file. For example, your 2014 tax return includes 32 pages. All 32 pages should be in one file. You’ve been asked to deliver 4 pay stubs. As each pay stub is issued on a different date, you will have 4 files labeled individually.

ü If you are scanning two-sided documents,

program your scanner to read both sides so that page numbers stay in order. If you can't figure out how to do that on your scanner, print one side of each page, then co-mingle the original with the backside copy so that all numbered pages stay together and then scan the complete document.

ü Don't scan documents altogether because this

creates difficulty for the lender on many levels. If the file size is too big, it may get rejected or get caught in the lender's virus scanning system. The item you deliver may not be the item that the lender needs to satisfy the condition and if you've labeled it correctly, you'll be able to have a smart conversation with the loan officer or loan processor to quickly direct them to the document you feel was submitted to satisfy a particular condition and find resolution.

The accordion file is best labeled as follows:

• Credit Report • Identification Documentation • Address History and Employment Contact information • Checking/Saving/MMA Statements (label and keep

statements separated by month) • Quarterly Retirement account statements (401-k's, IRA's) • Life insurance (for cash valued policies) • Pay stubs (keep in order by dates) • Additional Sources of income (to include child support,

alimony, pension, annuity, Trust, Social Security, etc.) • W-2's for the most recent two years • Personal tax returns for the most recent two years • Letters of Explanation • Billing Statements for recurring monthly installment and

revolving credit accounts. • For all Real Estate Owned, label a tab for each property

owned and collect the mortgage billing statement, yearly property tax bill, declarations pages of homeowners insurance policies and billing statement for the homeowner’s association dues, if any).

Only as applicable: • Business tax returns (for the most recent two years) • IRS Schedule K-1 for beneficiaries of Partnerships, S-

Corps, Trust and Estates (for the most recent two years) • Miscellaneous (Divorce Decree, Marital Settlement

Agreement, Separate Maintenance Agreement, Trust Document, Bankruptcy Discharge Papers)

• Debts paid by others - 12 month evidence of payment of recurring installment and revolving credit accounts

• VA Eligibility certification and supporting documentation • Homebuyer Counseling Certificate

Once you have selected a property, continue to make use of your accordion folder by adding the following labels:

• Purchase contract • Contact information (for selling agent, listing agent,

closing agent, loan officer, loan processor, insurance agent, and home inspectors)

• Evidence escrow funds have cleared your bank account

• Appraisal • Property Inspections • Insurance Quotes • Estimates for repairs • From the closing documents, keep a copy of your

first payment coupon

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Here’s a suggestion for labeling scanned copies of individual items into PDF format. Be ready to deliver these items to your lender at loan application:

1. Driver’s license or government issued ID (Jane-DL-exp 10-15-2020) 2. Social Security card (John-SSN) 3. If you are a permanent or a nonpermanent resident, your alien registration card (aka a green card or

INS Form I-551, or a permanent residence card). (John-INS exp 10-15-2018) 4. If you are a nonresident alien, your valid US visa and unexpired passport from your country of origin.

(Jane US Visa exp 10-15-2018) 5. Bring a list of all addresses where you have lived for the preceding two years. If you use a mailing

address, provide both where you actually live and where you'd like your mail delivered. (Jane and John - home and mailing addresses)

6. Landlord Information: If you were renting a property within the last two years, bring the contact information for the landlord to include name, telephone number, email, Housing Fee and length of time lived in the property. In some cases, lenders will require evidence of payments for the preceding 12 months so you will want to keep track of those. (Jane and John Landlord Info)

7. Employment Information: Bring a list of all contact information for any employers within the last two years to include name of company, address, telephone number, position, salary, hiring date, and ending date, if applicable. (Jane -Employer contact info)

8. If you have less than two years work experience and were enrolled in school during the preceding two years, provide a copy of your school transcript. (Jane school transcripts)

9. Assets: Most recent two months statements for all bank/brokerage/retirement accounts to include all numbered pages (Chase x4538 ending June 2019) The x4538 signifies the last four digits of the account number.

10. Income: Annual Social Security Awards letter, Pension and Annuity statements, as applicable (John SSN Awards 2016)

11. Pay stubs/LES (LES applies only to Military personnel) covering the most recent 30 days (John pay stub ending 5-15-2016)

12. Two most recent W-2s (Jane 2015 w2 for ABC company) 13. Two most recent personal tax returns (all schedules, all pages, page 2 with client signature) (John

and Jane 2014 personal tax return) Most people never sign their copy of the tax return retained for personal record-keeping, so please be sure to sign yours before you scan and email or give the copy to your lender.

14. For all real estate owned, provide the following: Most recent mortgage and/or home equity line of credit billing statement (if any) (BofA mtg stmt 123 Main St Aug 2015 123) (Greentree HELOC stmt 456 Elm Aug 2015), Declarations page of your homeowner’s insurance policies to include hazard, wind, flood, etc., as applicable (dec page 123 Main St) (flood 123 Main St), Property tax bill (Prop Tax Bill 123 Main St) , Homeowner’s Association (HOA) billing statement, if applicable (HOA billing 456 Elm St). In cases where you own more than two properties, you may want to include an Excel spreadsheet for your lender for ease of transferring information to the loan application and matching liabilities to collateral (Complete REO schedule).

15. Letters of Explanation for any elements requiring explanation. All letters must be signed and dated (LOX for ????).

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Whatever your assets, big or small, you're going to want to protect them for your loved ones. Take advantage of your current financial readiness and schedule a meeting with a financial planner to protect your heirs from financial hardship and/or delays in the probate courts. This isn't a process that only benefits the wealthy. If you've set-up your estate planning needs before, call in for a quick check-up as your financial needs change over time.

Tips for additional readiness: Now that you've gathered all of your financial documentation into one place, you've also readied yourself for the following very important life tasks:

a) Determination of life insurance needs

b) Preparation of your Will c) The college financial aid

application process

Sometime after loan application, you'll be asked to deliver the following:

1. Purchase Agreement/Sales Contract (Purchase Agreement) 2. Funds held in escrow: For each deposit given as required by the sales contract, you'll include a copy of the check

given and a printout of the transaction history from the date of the last statement from the bank account the check was drawn upon and forward, up to and including, the date the escrow check cleared your account. If monies were wired, you will need a copy of the wire transfer AND evidence of receipt by the escrow agent. ($5000 1st escrow deposit 2-11-15) ($10000 2nd escrow deposit 2-28-15)

3. Certificate of Homeowner's Insurance (COI bound on??? [Est. closing date]) 4. Application for Flood Insurance and evidence of payment, as required (Flood app and payment)

Tips for delivery of documentation to the lender:

1. Bring your accordion folder to loan application so that you can review each document with your loan officer for completeness and accuracy. This is your best opportunity to expedite the processing of your loan request, select a loan program, and gain a quick loan commitment.

2. Don’t leave your originals with the lender. Your lender will let you know what, if any, original documents or letters of explanation they need to have.

3. Bring your flash-drive with all documents saved and properly labeled and let your loan officer save the documents onto their software system. Take back your flash-drive.

4. If you're handling the transaction virtually, your loan officer will tell you how you can deliver the supporting documentation to their document imaging system.