by Marco Angioni II

Created on: February 03, 2010

Depending on the type of mortgage you seek to obtain, you may have to submit a lot of paperwork in order to obtain a mortgage.  In the early 2000’s many lenders would give loans without verifying income, employment, and other items.  After the real estate meltdown in the late 2000’s, lenders have increased the amount of information they require before they will give you a loan.

*Financial Documentation:

Most of the documentation that a lender will require from you is financial documentation.  Lenders may ask to see your last two pay stubs, previous tax returns, and bank statements from all of the banks at which you do business.  The purpose of asking for all of this information is so that the lender can have proof of your yearly income claims and of your employment claims.

In addition to your pay stubs, previous tax returns, and bank statements, lenders may ask for other financial information such as student loan statements and credit card statements.  The reason that lenders may ask for these statements is that credit reports generally do not state what your monthly payment is for these debts.  As such, in order to get an accurate picture of your monthly liabilities, lenders may require that you submit such documentation before you can be approved for a loan.

*Personal Documentation:

The personal documentation needed by a lender will be very straight forward.  You may have to fill out an application that requests personal information.  Additionally, the lender may require that you submit copies of identification.  For example, the lender may ask for a copy of your driver’s license and your social security card.  The reason lenders ask for these things is so they can verify your identity and verify that all of the financial documentation you provided to them is actually yours.

It may sound silly that lenders need to prove that the financial information you provided is actually yours, but you would be surprised at the amount of fraud that people try to commit on mortgage lenders.

*Miscellaneous Documentation:

Sometimes a lender will ask for a letter or a document from you that explains something that the lender cannot verify.  For example, if you deposited money in your checking account because you won money in Las Vegas, the lender may want to know where this money came from because such a deposit is not normal.  Because the deposit is not normal, the lender does not want to rely on it in approving you for a mortgage.

Miscellaneous documents like this are few and far between, but they can occur, and you will have to comply if you want to obtain the loan.

Financial documents, personal documents, and miscellaneous documents may all be necessary should you seek to obtain a mortgage.  These are documents that you need to provide.  It is important to mention, however, that should you get approved for the mortgage, there will be many documents to sign on the closing date.  The good news is that you do not have to provide any of them, the bad news is, it is a lot of information to go through in one day and you are going you have to be patient.  Once you sign all of your documents, you are handed the keys and can enjoy your new home.

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