More Tips for Buyers: What You'll Need for a Mortgage

I'm on a roll to tell you all you need about the home buying process, and how to get the most out of your real estate adventure. Yesterday we talked about common mistakes buyers make, today it's all about the mortgage.

I'm sure you've heard, the mortgage company wants everything up to rights to your first born. Well especially in these days, they need to make sure they are making safe loan decisions. The best advice I can give is to go ahead and get these documents ahead of time, make copies and date when you gave each item to your lender. If you email them, get a return receipt.

Also, before you start this whole process, check your credit. Go to http://www.annualcreditreport.com/ and get your free credit report, no matter how sure you are about what is or isn't on there. Case in point: My husband and I refinanced last year, and I had not checked my credit because I've always been stellar about paying bills. You can imagine how embarrassed I was when the lender I've known for years told me that I had had a 30-day late on a Visa several months back. I looked into it and he was right, my purse had been stolen and after cancelling so many cards, there was a mixup with the bank, I had paid online on the wrong card for 2 months. The bank had straightened out my account, but failed to change the credit rating, which apparently was up to me to follow up on. This one glitch had thrown my score under 700, which in these times will kill you on an interest rate. Check your credit, contact any lenders about any discrepancies, and close any of those department store credit cards you had signed up for to get the 10% off!

Checklist for your Lender:

□ W-2 forms — or business tax return forms if you're self-employed — for the last two or three years for every
person signing the loan.

□ Copies of at least one pay stub for each person signing the loan.

□ Account numbers of all your credit cards and the amounts for any outstanding balances.

□ Copies of two to four months of bank or credit union statements for both checking and savings
accounts.

□ Lender, loan number, and amount owed on other installment loans, such as student loans and
car loans.

□ Addresses where you’ve lived for the last five to seven years, with names of landlords if
appropriate.

□ Copies of brokerage account statements for two to four months, as well as a list of any other major assets of
value, such as a boat, RV, or stocks or bonds not held in a brokerage account.

□ Copies of your most recent 401(k) or other retirement account statement.

□ Documentation to verify additional income, such as child support or a pension.

□ Copies of personal tax forms for the last two to three years.