Even though many lenders are still quoting quick 10 minute pre-qualifications over the phone or online, a true mortgage approval that holds any weight is one that has been issued by an underwriter who has had an opportunity to review all of the necessary documents.

With a constant stream of new lending guidelines, volatile mortgage rates and tightening regulation from Washington, very few real estate agents will show new homes to a First-Time Home Buyer without at least a pre-qualification letter.

A Pre-Approval Letter will help you in three ways:

• It lets you know how much mortgage you can qualify for

• It gives you an estimate of what your total housing payment would be

• Submitting a strong “Pre-Approval” letter with a purchase offer will give the seller more confidence about your ability to complete your end of the agreement

It’s obviously a good idea to get your paperwork prepared ahead of time so that the pre-approval process is as thorough as possible.

In order to get a pre-approval letter, you’ll start by filling out a loan application and submitting a few documents for the loan officer and / or underwriter to review.

Common Loan Pre-Approval Documents

Income / Assets for Wage Earner:

• Last 2 year W2s and Tax Returns

• 2 most recent Pay Stubs

• 2 most recent Bank Statements, 401(K), Liquid Assets, Investment Accounts

Income / Assets for Self-Employed:

• Last 2 year Tax Returns – Business and Personal

• Last Quarter P&L Statement

Letter of Explanation For:

• Employment Gap or New Line of Work

• Late Payments / Judgments / Bankruptcy on Credit Report

Other:

• Bankruptcy Discharge

• Child Support Documentation

• Lease Agreements (If own other Rental Properties)

• Mortgage Payment Coupons (If own other Real Estate)

Most borrowers also want an opportunity to learn more about the loan officer before digging up all of these personal documents. Spend 15 minutes on the phone asking the loan officer to explain how mortgage rates work, quizzing them on some basic industry vocab or just to see if they know what to prepare your agent for ahead of time. The Q&A session can be more than just a lender qualifying you, as long as you’re prepared to ask the right questions.

Either way, you’ll definitely want to have the above list of approval documents ready once you’ve decided on the right loan officer that you trust will meet your expectations.

If you have any questions about this or if you have any questions you’d like us to answer on our podcast, you can email your questions to team@azmortgagebrothers.com or give us a call at (602) 535-2171. Be sure to ask us for a free quote on your next mortgage. We’ll personally work with you and help you through the whole process.

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Thanks for listening and reading the Mortgage Brothers Show. Let us know if you have any questions you’d like us to answer on this podcast. You can email your questions to Tom@AZMortgageBrothers.com or Eddie@AZMortgageBrothers.com.

Be sure to ask us for a free quote on your next mortgage. We’ll personally work with you and help you through the whole process.

Signature Home Loans LLC does not provide tax, legal, or accounting advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only. You should consult your own tax, legal, and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction. Signature Home Loans NMLS 1007154, NMLS #210917 and 1618695. Equal housing lender.

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