Preparing the Paperwork for a Home Purchase

The resolve to buy a home is both exciting and stressful. You may have only now begun your search, or you may have already come across the home of your dreams. Purchasing real estate requires a bit of research, organization and paperwork, but you will receive your reward for excellent preparation when the loan process and closing progress goes smoothly and without incident.

The first stage in this process is obtaining a copy of your credit report. As so many buyers find mistakes on this document, you need to check yours and make sure that everything on the report is accurate. If you do find a mistake, attempt contact with the creditor first to fix any problems. Just because your credit score is low does not mean you cannot buy a house, you may just get a higher interest rate.

Get Your Paperwork Organized to Expedite the Approval Process

After you have gone through the procedure of picking a lender and the kind of mortgage you want to get, the lender will have to do a verification of employment. You can get in touch with your human resources department and let them know that they can anticipate the arrival of this form. That can make the turnaround time for that document much faster.

You will also need a minimum of one month's worth of pay stubs or payment records from your present employer. Make copies of these and hang on to the originals. Locate the most recent W2 forms that your employer sent you for the past two calendar years. Your lender requires these wage and tax statements from you as well as from your spouse or other individual with whom you are applying for the mortgage. Find your 1040s and make copies of the documents. Use the two most recent years of tax returns if you have not yet filed your return for the the just-past calendar year.

Make Sure to Gather Extra Necessary Documents

There are more pieces of paperwork that your lender is going to need. Most lenders want a minimum of three months worth of checking or savings account documentation. Also bring copies of any assets like retirement accounts, stocks, bonds, mutual funds and so forth. Your lender is also going to have to confirm your identity, so that means that a copy of your driver's license or passport is also needed.

Look through your personal accounts and type up a list of all your present debts and how much you owe. Include in the record any car loans, credit cards, other real estate loans, and student loans, and take notice of how much you pay each month for them. Some lenders want copies of these statements. In addition, scrutinize personal financial records and make note of how much accessible cash you will have on hand after you have given your down payment at your home's closing. Bring photocopies of your Social Security card as well as that of the individual with whom you are buying the house if both of your names will be on the loan. Once your paperwork is in order, the mortgage process should conclude seamlessly.