Mortgage Pre-Approval

What does mortgage pre-approval mean?

Mortgage pre-approval is a commitment from a lender to provide you with home financing up to a certain loan amount—basically, the stamp of approval that you have the money, credit history, and other credentials to buy a home up to that price.  If you are serious about buying a home, you will need a pre-approval letter from a lender to make an offer.

How to get pre-approved for a mortgage:  What you will need

Be prepared to offer up a reasonable amount of paperwork to earn your pre-approval.  In general, the paperwork you’ll need to assemble for your lender includes the following:

• Pay stubs from the past 30 days showing your year-to-date income
• Two years of W2 forms from your employer
• 60 days or a quarterly statement of all of your asset accounts, which include your checking and savings, as well as any investment accounts such as CDs, IRAs, and other stocks or bonds
• Residential and employment history for the past two years.
• The lender will require your authorization to access your credit report.

Ready to get your pre-approval?   Start here!