Choose Your Lender Carefully

Category: Finance, Mortgages.

You' ve found a house you love, and you' re ready to apply for a mortgage.

Here are some important tips to follow. How can you streamline the process? Choose Your Lender Carefully. If you' ve worked with someone in the past and you like them, great. Too many people look at 20 houses but only consider one lender. If not, shop around a bit. Take Your Time.

Find a lender that you' re comfortable working with, who will listen to you and take the time to really understand your needs. Don' t feel rushed. Don' t let anyone pressure into making a decision that you are not comfortable with. Take all the time you need to understand your options. Schedule Enough Time. Make sure that you have scheduled enough time for this important process. Normally it takes at least an hour with the lender to go over your loan application and the related documentation.

Get a Babysitter. If you have small children, get a babysitter. Loan origination and mortgages are pretty boring topics for adults but they' re truly stultifying for anyone under 1Leave the kids at home. It's virtually impossible to keep your kinds entertained for an hour while you go over important financial documents. Even worse, you' ll be distracted, and you may miss something important. Lenders say that interviews where children are present normally take twice as long.

Plan Ahead. Normal mortgage applications take 2 to 4 weeks. Be sure to allow enough time for the loan application to be processed. An application for an FHA or VA mortgage usually takes 4 to 6 weeks. Get Your Records Together. It's possible that your loan will move along faster, but you can' t count on it. The most common reason for mortgage applications to be delayed is missing paperwork, especially documentation like income tax returns and bank statements.

One of the best reasons to be prequalified is because it gives you more time to find your paperwork! Get all the required information together as soon as possible, and get it to your lender early. Don' t Pack Important Documents. At any point during the loan approval process, the lender may need additional documents, bank statements, including tax returns, pay stubs, W- 2s, etc. It's natural to begin packing while you wait for your loan to be approved but don' t pack those important documents! If you' re self- employed, this applies to your business records, as well.

It's better to wait until last to pack these items.