Remember, when going to apply for a loan , you’re in the driver’s seat. You’re giving them your business, not the other way around. if a lender seems condescending or doesn’t treat you fairly or with civility, take your business elsewhere.
STARTING YOUR SEARCH
the first thing to do when starting to look for a mortgage is to find out the current mortgage interest rate.
You should know the following:
1- The current interest rate lenders are charging for their most common mortgages.
2- How many points ( a point is 1% of the loan amount) they are charging to make the loan
3- The Annual Percentage Rate (APR) of the loan ( which adds up all the extra cost and fees and amortizes the cost over the life of the loan)
4- What lengths of loans the mortgage company offers 7/23 or 5/25 which are fixed for seven or five years and then convert into one-year adjustable rate mortgages or 30-year fixed, 15-year fixed, 5-year balloon, etc
The easiest way to find out what lenders are charging is to come back here very often and also you can visit the best and biggest lenders in the country.
APPLY FOR A MORTGAGE
Having the following information handy can speed up the process significantly.
* Copies of all bank statements for the last 3 months.
* Copies of all account statements, including stock brokerage accounts.
* Most recent pay stub for you and your spouse or partner.
* W2 form for the past 2 years
* If you’re self-employed, the past 2 years of tax returns plus a profit-and-loss for the year to date.
* A gift letter, if part of the money you’re using to buy the house has come as a gift from parents, friends, or other relatives. This typically is a letter, which does not necessarily have to be notarized, written by the gift givers that states that the cash is a gift and does not need to be repaid.
