Real NEastate: Mortgage must-haves

Q: I am looking for a home and my agent told me to go to my bank and get pre-approved first. What should I bring with me?

A: Your lender will check your credit, so you don’t need to have your credit score ready, but there are many items that a mortgage lender will need to process your loan, including:

1. Thirty days’ most recent pay stubs for all full-time and any part-time jobs you have.

2. A list of your past two years of residences.

3. Two months of your most recent bank statements. All pages.

4. Two months of your most recent investment statements, if you have investments. All pages.

5. Your 2008 and 2009 W-2 and 1099 forms. 6. Your 2008 and 2009 Federal 1040 forms — all pages of your return and schedules. If you have a Corp, LLC, etc., then bring all pages of the Federal return also. And the address and phone number for your CPA.

7. A list of the past two years of your employment, including your employers’ names, addresses, start dates and end dates. 8. A copy of your drivers license and one other form of ID. Examples of acceptable ID are an employee ID card, Social Security card, major credit card, passport, library card or birth certificate.

9.  If you make any cash deposits into your bank account, they will need to be explained and documented, i.e., your pay check is not direct deposit and you visit the bank and deposit on your own. You will need to type an explanation and provide a copy of the pay stub(s).

10.  If you currently own a home, a copy of the current mortgage statement showing account number, principal, interest, taxes and insurance.

11.  A copy of statements for any car loan, student loans or personal loans with account number, amount borrowed and monthly payment.

If you bring everything on this list, you will be ahead of the game, but your lender will still need some more items from you from time to time. In fact, sometimes even a few days prior to closing, you will find yourself gathering more financial information for the mortgage underwriter.

This is normal, and not because they want to drive you crazy, although it may feel that way. It is because lending guidelines are constantly changing, especially since banks do not usually fund their own loans anymore.

Good Luck!

Stacey McCarthy is a real estate agent with the McCarthy Group of Keller Williams. Her Real NEastate column appears every Wednesday on NEastPhilly.com. See others here. Read other NEast Philly columns here.