Mortgage Application Tips #5: Required Information

We briefly mentioned some of the things that you may need to bring with you before you start your application, but here is a more detailed list of the information mortgage lenders will use to consider your loan application. For all loans: Social Security Number, for borrower and co-borrower if any Employment History for the last two years, employment dates, addresses, salary. Current pay stubs or W-2 forms. Check and Savings Accounts and Certificates of Deposit. Location of bank accounts, account numbers and balances, address of bank if out of town, last 3 months' statements. Stocks, Bonds, and Investment Accounts.  Broker's name and address, description of stocks, bonds, etc.  Last 3 months' statements or copies of stock certificates. Life Insurance Policies. Insurance...

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Mortgage Application Tips #4 - Credit Scores

Before they decide on the terms of your loan, lenders want to know two things about you: your ability to repay the loan, and if you will pay it back. To assess whether you can pay back the loan, they look at your income to debt ratio which we talked about last week. In order to assess your willingness to pay back the loan, they look at your credit score. To learn how to improve your credit score, view this article. The most widely used credit scores are FICO scores, which were developed by Fair Isaac & Company, Inc. The FICO score ranges from 350 (high risk) to 850 (low risk). Your credit score comes from your history of repayment. They never take into account your income, savings, amount of down payment, or demographic factors like gender, ethnicity, national origin or marital...

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