Homeowners who haven’t refinanced their mortgage in recent years are often astonished by the amount of paperwork they’ll need for the refinancing process today. If you haven’t refinanced or gotten a mortgage in the past five years, here’s what you need to know to get up to speed.
Paperwork to compile
Scrounging up supporting documentation for your application is most applicants’ least favorite thing to do, but it’s unfortunately necessary in order to be granted a mortgage refinance.
If you’re a W-2 employee, you’ll be expected to provide the following:
- Past two years’ federal income tax returns
- Past two years’ W-2s
- Your most recent 30-day pay stubs
- Your bank statements/asset statements for the past 60 days
- A copy of your current mortgage statement
If you are self-employed, you’ll be expected to provide the following:
- Past two years’ federal income tax returns
- A year-to-date profit and loss statement
- Bank statements/assets for the most recent past 60 days
- A copy of your current mortgage statement
This is the minimum documentation your bank, mortgage lender, or mortgage broker will need before they begin unraveling your finances. Make no mistake, getting a mortgage these days is a documentation-heavy process and is necessary to show you meet the federal ability to repay requirements.
What happens in mortgage underwriting
The mortgage process involves creating, documenting, and structuring a loan package, and presenting the file to a decision-maker who ultimately will approve, deny, or suspend the loan. Loans with obstacles are generally not denied, but they are rather suspended for a reason—such as the borrower’s debt-to-income ratio being too high, having a previous foreclosure, or a slew of other possibilities. A suspended loan is simply a need for more documentation or for clarification of a specific problem. If the problem can be corrected, the loan can still move forward. Here is the loan flow:
Loan package submitted to underwriting
↓
Loan approved with conditions
↓
Conditions come in from borrower & resubmitted back to underwriting
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More conditions added or loan is final approved
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Final approval/Clear to close
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Docs ordered
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Sign docs
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Fund & record
Once your lender submits your loan to underwriting, “prior to doc” conditions are created. These conditions generally require more administrative paperwork from the borrower in order to get final loan approval (i.e., the green light for closing). This might mean providing additional pay stubs, additional bank statements, a profit and loss statement showing the income consistent with the tax returns, or addressing questions underwriting might have regarding your financial documentation.
Where challenges may arise
The most difficult stage in the home lending process is when documentation is submitted to underwriting—it can create more conditions, more questions, and further needs to provide more documentation.
A good mortgage lender will perform due diligence in the originating of your mortgage refinance. This includes reviewing any documentation supplied by the consumer before it goes to the decision-maker, to make sure the information satisfies each condition. Be informed. Loan officers are not underwriters. Loan officers, loan processors, and operational support do not make credit decisions on behalf of the lender. The final decision-maker is the underwriter. A good rule of thumb is to work with a loan professional who either has underwriting experience or can demonstrate knowledge of underwriting guidelines.
The homeowners who find the mortgage process daunting tend to be the ones who have not refinanced in years, perhaps because their previous refinance experience was likely simple and quick. The old concept that working with your current bank or lender is somehow going to be easier is also generally not the case, either. Don’t be fooled: Banks want your business, especially your current bank, which could be in danger of losing your business when you refinance elsewhere. Lending, for the most part, is a level playing field. Loan providers want the same supporting documentation, and your current servicer does not save this information. Additionally, no mortgage company has a monopoly on the market, although some banks may offer expanded credit criteria, such as needing less equity for example, but at the cost of either more income, less debt, or perhaps a good credit score.
Essentially, being organized from the start can potentially help you cut down on the additional paperwork and questions during the refi process.
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This article was provided by Realtor.com written by Scott Sheldon and originally published on Credit.com.
Photo: Karen Roach/Shutterstock
