Which Documents are Required for Securing a Mortgage?

Ready to scout over various home sales to find out the one that best fits your idea of “dream home”? Great! But don’t forget that the surest way to heartbreak is to find your dream home and make plans to move in, only to find a lack of sufficient documents means you can’t secure the mortgage you need to finance it.

If you haven’t got your paperwork in line by now, it is highly recommended that you take care of it before you venture outside looking for your dream home. Here is your document checklist to ensure you secure mortgage approval if you really are determined to buy your dream home:

Credit Report

You should get a copy of the credit report and carefully go through it. In case of a mistake, get it fixed before filing the papers. Try to avoid late payments as that reduces your FICO score and looks bad on your credit report for future lenders.

Credit Score

Yes, you can surely get a loan even with a low FICO score. In this case you can apply for an FHA loan which doesn’t depend on your FICO score. The FHA loan comes with the benefit of also having a lower down payment rate. The lender will do a back ground check of your employment credentials, and will also require some other paperwork to finalize the loan.

Other Miscellaneous Documents

Other documents you’ll need to obtain a mortgage include:

1. Pay slips – You have to hand over the photocopies of the last two months’ pay slips. Do not give the originals.
2. Tax Statement – You’ll also need your salary and tax statements of the last two years.
3. Tax Returns of The Last Two Years - The lender will want to see photocopies of the last two year’s tax returns. Make sure that all the schedules are included and you have signed the tax return before submitting it.
4. Bank Statements – Bank statements for the last two months, or in some cases, the last three months will be required. Submit copies of every single page from all the bank accounts you hold.
5. Accounts, Bonds And Mutual Funds - You are required to submit a detailed report of all your mutual funds, bonds and accounts. Submit photocopies of the statements.
6. Copy Of Driving License/Photo ID - Essentially this is just to verify that you are who you say you are, but the deal won’t be able to go ahead without it! You can show your ID in person if you are meeting the lender face-to-face, or else send a scanned copy of it with the rest of your documents.

Be sure to keep all these documents ready beforehand, as that will prevent you from making last minute mistakes and ensure that your mortgage application process goes much more smoothly.