Documents Needed For a Mortgage

If you plan on applying for a mortgage soon, you are probably already thinking about organizing your papers. When you apply for a mortgage you will have to provide documents to verify your income and financial information. You can start gathering your documents early to make the application process easier and faster. Although the documents you will be required to produce may differ based on a number of factors, lenders generally ask for the same types of documents, including:

• Income verification – This will usually be in the form of your two most recent pay stubs.
• Employment verification – You will need to list your employer(s) for the past two years and provide their contact information.
• Your current place of residence – or any other place you have lived in the past two years needs to be verified. Some lender may require information for greater than the past 2 years.
• Bank account information – Lenders will want to look at any accounts in your name such as money market, savings, checking or credit accounts. This will show that you have enough cash reserves required for a loan.
• Personal Identification – You will need at least two forms of ID to verify your social security number and your date of birth.
• Tax information – Usually you will need to provide your W-2 statements and tax returns for the last two years.
• Proof of employment – Borrowers who are self-employed will have to come up with alternative forms proof to document their income. This can include tax statements, bank account, or business accounting information.
• Monthly expenses – Many times borrowers will need to provide a list of your monthly expenses so they can assess your debt-to-income ratio.
• Credit information – If you have any outstanding debt or credit problems, you may need to explain why.
• Asset documentation – Any other assets that you have will be considered by the lender, such as IRA accounts, stocks or CDs.
• Gift money affidavits – If you are using gift money to cover any of your mortgage, most lenders will require you to produce a gift letter. This is to ensure that the money is for a gift and not a loan.
• Divorce settlement – if applicable.
• The contract or purchase agreement – You will need to have this in order the title to change hands. The lender needs a signed copy of the purchase contract. You may also need to have a receipt for the deposit of good faith.

As mentioned before, the documents required to qualify for a mortgage will vary depending a number of factors such as your financial situation and the type of loan you are receiving. This list is not exhaustive by any account, but it does give you a general idea of the kinds of documents you’ll need to have in order to obtain a mortgage.