The mortgage application process is where you fill out the application, and sign various forms that authorizes us to process your loan. Ordering credit report and provide supporting documents are also done at this stage.
This used to be done by filling out forms with a pen and lots of whiteout. Thanks to the internet, you now can start your application process by simply filling out a worksheet online, and we will complete the application for you. This application along with other necessary forms will be sent to you via email. You would need to review, sign, and send them back. You should understand that the next process cannot begin until these documents are completed and received.
When all of your documentation is received it then goes to a processor who verifies and validates all of the information to be true and correct. Verification requests may be sent to your employers, mortgage holder/landlord and lending institutions. This is done by email or fax when possible. It is usually during this time frame that the appraisal and the title policy are ordered.
The verification process usually takes about one to two weeks but it can often be delayed when third parties do not respond to the validation requests or when appraisals are delayed.
As a side note: You might be paying for the appraisal service on your mortgage. However, the appraiser is actually working independently, NOT for you.
Once all the information is verified, the completed loan package (including your credit report, appraisal report, title report and all of your supporting documents) is then sent to the underwriting department.
The underwriters have the ultimate power and decision authority over the approval of your loan. They will review your loan package to make sure it conforms to all the guidelines required for that loan product. They also review the appraisal and title report and may do additional validation of employment, mortgage payments, and credit. And, anything else they feel is necessary to document your loan. The time required to do this is driven by the volume in the market. If the market is flooded with a lot of transactions, it can be delayed. Otherwise, a general time frame would be around 5 business days.
Once the underwriter is done reviewing your loan, they will issue a "conditions to close" notification. These are normally just requirements for further documentation to support your file. When these needs have been satisfied, the underwriter will give a final approval and "clear to close", which is also called Loan Commitment.
A Loan Commitment usually contain some other conditions that the borrower (you) needs to satisfy before or on closing. One of the most common conditions is to have proper homeowner's insurance. Once you have the commitment reviewed, you would forward a copy to your attorney. Your attorney then follows the instruction described on the commitment letter to prepare you for closing. This may involve submitting documents such as Certificate of Occupancy, title report, insurance policy, property survey…etc. to us.
Yes, once all the paperworks have been settled, your attorney will schedule and coordinate with all parties involved of the time and location to sign the final documents to close the loan.
One of the key element that lenders look at is the appraisal report, which determines the value of your property based on a number of valuation factors, ranging from gross living space, to the view and the year a property was built.
The appraiser is generally chosen by the mortgage lender. Typically, in a residential purchase and refinance, you would pay for the cost of an appraisal service. However, the appraiser is actually working independently, NOT for you.
You will be refused a mortgage, or offered a smaller amount on the mortgage, if the appraisal value falls short of the amount you wish to borrow. You will have to make up the difference with a larger down payment, or re-negotiate the sale price with the seller.
To avoid this situation, ask your Realtor to provide a copy of Comparative Market Analysis, also known as a CMA or "comps" to the appraiser. CMA shows recent sales of properties in the neighborhood where you are buying or refinancing. This is to prevent the Appraiser using outdated information for valuation.
Generally people start their “home” shopping by searching the web, visit open houses, talk to some real estate agents and go see more houses. When it comes to mortgage, most of the people just have some idea of the mortgage interest rate and an idea of what their monthly payment might be. Most have NO IDEA what their credit score is, how debt-to-income ratio is calculated, and how much funds should be prepared before and after a purchase or refinance of their home. After they finally find their dream home, getting a mortgage becomes an adventure rather than a planned financial decision.
Here I have put together an outline of some key components where you shouldn’t be overlooking if you are planning to apply for a mortgage.
Lenders generally look for 2 months of financial documents, such as bank statements and pay stubs. Any large deposits during that 2 month period will require an explanation on source of funds.
If you are planning on applying for a mortgage refinance or purchasing a new home, it is best that you begin to prepare at least three months in advance. It’s recommended to consolidate your funds that are related to this mortgage transaction into fewer accounts three months prior. This will not only reduce the paperwork during the mortgage process, but also simplifies the process.
Get a copy of your credit report and make sure your credit history is being reported accurately. The three major credit report agencies in United States are Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. If mistake are found, contact the credit report agency and ask for a dispute. Don't be fooled by companies that charge you a lot of money and promise to remove negative credit from your report. You can improve your score, but you cannot remove accurately reported information. Better credit score also gives you a better mortgage rate.
As a side note: Lenders will require obtaining your credit report through a 3rd party during the mortgage application process regardless if you have any of your own. This is referring to as a 3rd party verification process.
If you are considering in making a purchase in the next 3 months or about to make an offer on what you had found, then getting a pre-approval makes the most sense. During the pre-approval process, your financial situation will be evaluated. You will be required to show proof of income and credit report. In another word, pre-approval is essentially the same process as you would be applying for mortgage loan except that there is no physical property location, appraisal, and underwriter. Pre-approval is a good step to take before you start shopping because it shows sellers that you are a potential and serious buyer.
As mention earlier, the money you are going to use for your down payment and closing cost typically have to be sourced and seasoned for three months. If you already have your money in an institution (bank, CD, stocks or 401k) you are ok. However, if you have $30,000 under your pillow and intend to buy a house with it today, you would be turned down. Lenders must see that you have had the money for three months and they must see where it came from. So, put the money in the bank and leave it there for three months. Some loan programs will allow a gift. However, even the gift must be sourced and seasoned in some cases.
You cannot close your house today and be left with no money for lunch tomorrow. Funds after close are commonly refer to as “reserved”. Usually you would need to show at least 2 payments of PITI in the bank account as reserved. PITI is Principle + Interest + Tax + Insurance.
Required documents vary and depend on the type of loan you are applying for. Again, it’s recommended to go through the pre-approval process so that you are fully prepared on what documents are needed during the actual mortgage process. The list below is only a quick overview as a reference:
- Most recent 1 month pay stub
- Most recent 2 years W-2 statements (if applicable)
- Most recent 2 months bank statements (all pages)
- Copy of a driver’s license (both side)
- Copy of a Green Card or other Visa if not U.S. citizen (both side)
- Copy of Social Security Card (both side)
- Copy of homeowner’s insurance (all pages)
- Contract of Sales (for purchase only)
- Copy of tax bill (for refinance)
- Copy of current mortgage statements (for refinance)
- Most recent 2 years of corporate return (Stated income loan)
填寫貸款申請表、訂購信用報告、並提供相關文件是貸款程序的第一步驟。
在過去，填寫貸款申請表只能是紙、筆和郵寄。現在，您可以直接在這個網站上填寫申請表，我們收到後將會以電子郵件發送給您一份屬於您貸款申請表。 你只需要審合，簽名，並隨著相關文件一起發送回來便可。請明白，貸款過程必須是按步就般的處理，您必須完成這個步驟，以下的步驟才可進行。
收到您的貸款申請表以及相關文件後，我們便開始驗證所有的文件是否與您提供的申請表符合。 驗證過程中我們可能會聯絡您的雇主、屋主和貸款機構，以確定您的工作、住址及任何的貸款尾款。這些都是通過電子郵件或傳真以卻定書面記錄。通常，房屋評估報告也是在這個時後一起進行的。 驗證過程需要大約一到兩個星期。 大不份被延遲的原因多半是您提供的聯絡人或單位沒有立即回應。 我們建議您可事先與對方打個招呼以必免不必要的等待。
一旦所有的文件驗證完畢，你的信用報告，房屋評估報告，產權報告和所有的證明文件將會發送給承保部門。
有一點要提醒的是：評估公司的費用雖然是借款人來支付，評估員在評估過程是獨立的，不是替借款人做事。 欲了解更多信息，請參閱常見問題中的「房屋評估報告」。
承保部門擁有最終的決定權來批准您的貸款。承保部門會審查您的貸款方案，以確保它符合所有您所選擇的貸款條件。審查過程中可能會再次聯絡您的雇主、屋主和貸款機構。另外，若承保部門覺得有任何其他必要的貸款文件，您也最好盡快補上。
在評估承保所需要的時間通常是看市場上貸款的數量。市場上交易的數量越多，所需要的時間可以被延遲。通常的時間約為 5個工作日。
承保部門一旦完成審查您的貸款，他們會發出「有條件過戶」通知。 通常在這個步驟是需要跟據承保部門的需求做出回應和一些文件的更新和。 當承保部門得到了滿意的回應和更新文件後便會送出「過戶批准通知」這也叫「貸款承諾」 (Loan Commitment)
在貸款承諾中，通常包含一些其它條件，您必須在過戶前或過戶當下完成。其中最常見的便是購買適當的房屋保險。 當您確定貸款承諾一切無誤後，你當提供一份給您的律師。 你的律師會跟據貸款承諾上的條款為您準備過戶。準備的過程中可能涉及提交文件如土地佔用證書，產權報告，保險單，土地測量...等等。 一旦所有的手續就緒。通常情況下您的律師會協調各方的時間和地點做房屋過戶。
房屋貸款其中一個關鍵的元素便是房屋評估報告。房屋評估報告是一份客觀性報告。評估員會跟據告當地市場、地理的位子、房屋可用的生活空間，房屋的年齡…等等，為房屋評估一個價值。
評估的價值通常與近 6 個月來的當地售價有關。 若是評估的價值小於預估的房屋價值，那麼很可能被拒絕貸款或提供較少的房屋抵押貸款‧若是必須貸到當時的預估金額，您可是補足差額在頭期款內，或與賣方重新談判銷售價格。
為了避免這種情況，建議您請房地產經紀提供評估員一份「市場分析比較」，也被稱為「CMA」 或「銷售業績」的報告。「市場分析比較」會顯示出當地市場最近的物業銷售金額。 這是為了防止評估員使用過時信息來做估價。
評估公司一般是由貸款公司來選擇。通常，支付評估服務是借款人的責任。 有一點要提醒的是： 雖然費用是借款人來支付，評估員在評估過程是獨立的，不是替借款人做事。
多數人有了買房子的念頭的時候，最先去做的事情一定是上網，翻報紙，查相關的房子信息和房價，跟賣房子的經紀打交道。 可是一講到房屋貸款多數人只知道大約的貸款利率和大約的每月應付金額。 多半都不知道他們的信用分數是多少，如何計算「應付和收入」的比率，應該有多少資金必須在過戶前和過戶後事先準備。 等終於找到了自己滿意的房子之後再來準備，有時可能會措手不及而造成遺憾。 以下為大家講解一些注意事項已共參考也希望大家的購屋順利：
銀行一般都須要貸款人提出2個月的財務文件，如銀行帳單和工資單。 如有任何不規律的存款在2個月內將需要解釋資金來源。
換句話說，如果你準備要申請房屋貸款(購屋或重貸)，你應該至少提前3個月就開始準備。將您的資金移轉到你要用來申請貸款的銀行賬戶。這不僅會減少不必要手續也簡化了程序。
信用報告通常是房屋貸款中的成敗關鍵。 先取得一份自己的信用報告，並確定您的信用記錄在報告裡是否有誤。 有太多的案例因為華人的名字過於相近，父母兄妹的社會安全號碼又是連號，倒至信用記錄的錯誤。 如果發現錯誤，可與信用報告機構要求更正。 此外，不要被一些不實的信用修復公司愚弄，所取您昂貴的金額並承諾從您的信用報告中刪除負面記錄。 您不能刪除不是錯誤記錄，但是您可以透過正確的方法提高你的分數。
另外：無論您是否可提供自己的信用報告，銀行會在貸款過程中通過第三者來所取您的信用報告。 這是為了驗證信用報告的真實度。
如果您考慮在未來3至6個月內決定購買，那麼建議您直接申請一份預批證明。預批證明主要是審核申請者的信用分數及收入，若兩項同時滿足條件，才會核准貸款。對銀行而言核發預先批准要承擔一定風險，若核發後申請者因故又 貸不到款，銀行也有損失。 申請預先批准被拒，我們會根據拒絕的原因建議申貸人改善，譬如有的顧客自認信用良好，經銀行一查發現有問題，我們會題供些建議以幫助顧客改善，等達到標 準後再重新申請。
正如前面提到，您的資金(如：首期款和相關過戶費用)都應該在事先3個月前準備好。 如果您的資金是在一個機構（銀行，CD機，股票或401k）你都OK。不過，如果你有3萬現金在到您的枕頭下並打算用來買房子，你將會被拒絕。再次強調，銀行一般都須要看到貸款人有 持有2 個月以上的資金。所以事先把錢存在銀行以便用來證明。有些貸款計劃允許他人給予資金做為禮物。然而，即使是禮物也必須提供來源和送禮人的關係。
銀行不能讓您今天過戶後明天就沒錢吃飯了！ 過戶後的資金，通常是指為「保留」(Reserved)。 通常您需要保留2個月的應付金額。 應付金額是：應付貸款 + 利息 + 地稅 + 保險。
所需要的文件通常是取決於你所申請的貸款類型。再次建議您利用申請貸款預批的方式來了解您在正式貸款時所須要的文件，以便充分準備。以下的列表只是一個簡要作為參考：
- 最近一個月工資單
- 最近2年的W – 2
- 最近2個月的銀行報表（所有頁面）
- 複製的駕駛執照（前後兩面）
- 複製的綠卡或其他簽證，如果不是美國公民（前後兩面）
- 複製的社會保障卡（前後兩面）
- 複製的房主保險（所有頁面）
- 購屋合同
- 複製的稅單（重貸）
- 複製目前貸款的報表（重貸）
- 最近2年公司的回報（不查）