Your Guide to Mortgage Paperwork

Tracking all the paperwork you need to process your loan can be a headache. Your agent will assist you with gathering the proper documents, but make sure you’re educated about what you need in advance.

Paperwork your lender will need:

• W-2s – be ready to present 2 years’ worth if asked
• 1099 – if applicable
• Tax returns – be ready to present 2 years’ worth if asked
• Pay stubs – from the last month
• List of all debt – documents verifying student debt, existing mortgages, credit card debt, and any other money you owe
• Child support/spousal support statements
• Asset list – Documents verifying how much you have in savings, mutual funds, stocks, property, and other assets
• Rent/Mortgage Payment Proof – Your landlord or existing mortgage lender will have to verify you’ve made timely rent or mortgage payments in the last 12 months

Loan Estimate

Until October 3, 2015, lenders were legally required to provide a Truth in Lending disclosure and Good Faith Estimate within three days of you submitting a loan application. Now, these documents have been combined into one Loan Estimate. The Loan Estimate breaks down the terms of your loan, the additional costs, estimated monthly payments, and more.

See the Loan Estimate document >>

Closing Disclosure

Also on October 3, the final Truth in Lending and HUD-1 Settlement Statement documents you received from your lender at your closing were replaced by a Closing Disclosure. The Closing Disclosure provides your final loan terms, closing costs, money you need to close, monthly payments, and more.

See the Closing Disclosure document >>

Loan Commitment

The final step in the mortgage process—after you’ve been pre-qualified, after you’ve been pre-approved, after you’ve found a home, put in an offer, and had the offer approved—is to get a loan commitment from your bank or lender.

A loan commitment is a promise from the bank that they will let you borrow a certain amount of money. In order to give you a loan commitment, the bank will independently appraise and approve the property as well.