One of the best things that you can do when you apply for a mortgage is to, as the Boy Scouts say, be prepared.
With all the scrutiny that loan files undergo these days, the better documentation you can provide up front to your lender, the more smoothly the process will go.
Nothing slows the mortgage process more than underwriters having to spend two or three days asking for and then reviewing items that should have been asked for or that were asked for at application but you never provided.
Following are some documents you need to keep your mortgage application on track:
Income:
Thirty days of pay stubs and two years of federal tax returns are pretty much standard.
Contact information for employers over the previous two years is also important, especially if you have had multiple employers.
Each one has to be contacted in the verification process, and the easier you can make it for the lender, the better.
Assets:
The last two months of bank statements are standard.
If you are showing either large deposits or withdrawals on the statements that you submit, be prepared to fully document these items, as lenders will want some type of paper trail as well.
Other Information:
Information like the past two years of residency is important, especially if you have lived in multiple places.
This means you’ll need the names and phone numbers of landlords and/or homeowner associations.
As with income, the easier you can make it for the lender, the more easily the file will move.
The name and contact information of your real estate agent (in the case of a purchase), real estate attorney and insurance agent will be invaluable.