The Mortgage Process:

While many fear or believe the mortgage process is intimidating, Mortgages Direct expert mortgage originators, will relieve your fears, and make the process an enjoyable one.  In order to achieve the goal of making your mortgage experience a pleasant one, there are steps that require your participation.  So let's take a look at the process of obtaining a mortgage!  The steps that have proven to make the process simple include:

1. Organize your documents,
2. Get qualified,
3. Shop loan programs and rates,
4. Apply for a mortgage and obtain mortgage approval,
5. Close the mortgage.

Organize your documents 

If you are purchasing or refinancing a home.

1. Income documentation needed:
   • If you are salaried, provide two (2) years W-2 and one (1) month of pay stubs
   • if you are self-employed, provide your prior two years federal tax returns.
2. If you own rental property, please provide rental (lease) agreements and two years tax returns.
3. Asset documentation needed:
   • Provide three (3) months bank statements (all pages) for each bank account, stock and mutual fund account.
   • Provide most recent statement of any stock brokerage or retirement (401K/IRA, etc.) account.
4. If you are requesting a cash out refinance, please provide a letter explaining what you plan to do with the proceeds.
5. Provide a copy of divorce decree if applicable.
6. If you are NOT a US citizen, provide us with a copy of your green card (front & back), or if you are NOT a permanent resident, provide us with your H-1 or L-1 visa.

Get Qualified

Getting qualified prior to applying for a loan, shows you how much you can borrow.

When buying a house, you may get pre-qualified or pre-approved.  You can typically get pre-qualified over the phone in a few minutes, since nothing is verified.  A pre-qualification is not as beneficial as a pre-approval.  A pre-approval requires verification of your credit, income, assets, and liabilities.  It is highly recommended that you get pre-approved before you start looking for a home.  Pre-approval will help you:

1. Determine the maximum house you can buy, so you don't waste time looking for properties you cannot afford.
2. Puts you in a stronger position when you are negotiating with the seller, because the seller knows that your mortgage is already approved.
3. Helps you close quickly, since your mortgage is already approved.

Our expert originators are available now for your pre-qualification or pre-approval - call them at 1-866-276-0077.

Shop Mortgage Programs and Rates

To shop for a mortgage you will need to:

1. Think about how long you plan to keep the loan.  If you plan to sell the house in a few years you may want to consider an  adjustable rate mortgage, hybrid, or balloon mortgage.  On the other hand, if you plan to keep the house for a longer time, you may want to look at fixed loans.
2. Understand the relationship between interest rates and points.  Points are considered to be prepaid interest and can be tax deductible.  Each point is equal to one percent of the loan.  So for example one point on a $150,000 mortgage is $1,500.  The interest rate for a mortgage with no points will be higher than the interest rate for a mortgage paying one point.  Interest rates should be quoted to you like 5.25% plus 1 plus 0 (5.25% + 0 + 1).  The interest rate is quoted first, then discount points, and then origination points.  Make sure when you compare interest rates, that you are comparing the points also.  Otherwise, you may be attracted to that low interest rate quote, but find out at closing that there are many points that go with it.
3. Compare different programs.  Shopping for a loan can be difficult.  With so many programs to choose from each of which has different interest rates, points, and fees, it's hard to figure out which program is best for you.  That's where an experienced loan officer can help you make a decision that is best for you.  Call our mortgage experts today, to help you through this comparison, they can be reached at 1.880.881.8568.

Obtain Mortgage Approval

Once your mortgage application is received, we will immediately start the approval process.  This involves verifying your:

1. Credit history,
2. Employment History,
3. Assets, including your bank accounts, stocks, mutual fund and retirement accounts.
4. Property value.

Based on your specific situation, additional documents or verifications may be required.  To improve your chances of obtaining mortgage approval:

• Complete the mortgage application as completely as possible.
• Respond promptly to any request for additional documents.  This especially critical if you interest rate is locked or if you plan to close by a certain date.
• Do not make any major purchases.  Do not buy a car, furniture or another house, until your mortgage is closed and funded.  Anything that causes your debts to increase may have an adverse affect on your current application.
• Do not move money into your bank account unless it can be traced.  If you are receiving money from friends, family or other relatives, please contact us.
• Do not go out of town when your closing date is near.  If you do plan to be out of town when your mortgage is expected to close, in some cases, you may sign a power-of-attorney, to authorize another individual to sign on you behalf.

Close the Mortgage

After your mortgage is approved, you will be required to sign the final mortgage documents.  This will normally take place in front of a notary public at a title company.  Be prepared to:

• Bring a cashiers check for your down payment and closing costs, if required.  Personal checks are normally not accepted.
• Review the final mortgage documents.  Make sure that the interest rate and loan terms are what you were promised.  Also, verify that the name and address on the mortgage documents is accurate.
• Sign the mortgage documents.

Your mortgage will normally fund shortly after you have signed the loan documents.  On refinances and home equity mortgage transactions, federal law requires that you have three (3) days to review the documents and approved the transaction (called Federal Rights of Rescission) before your mortgage transaction can fund.