Documents Needed for a Mortgage

From the Superpages.com

In addition to personal identification, financial documents are often among the documents needed for mortgage loans. Buyers usually give this documentation directly to the bank or mortgage lender. Depending on the mortgage company, a broker may verify some of the information or the underwriter will verify all of the information. Once the bank verifies a prospective buyer’s financial information, the underwriter can continue to process the loan. Sometimes, if information is not clear or cannot be verified, the mortgage broker will contact the prospective buyer for additional documentation.

Basic Documents Needed for Mortgage Loans

In almost every situation, your prospective lender will want to see the following documents needed for mortgage loans before qualifying you for a mortgage or issuing you a loan.

Pay stubs

Most mortgage brokers or banks will request copies of pay stubs from the three months prior to the loan application. If a prospective buyer owns his own business or works on a commission basis, the mortgage broker or bank may request additional documentation of income – up to a year’s worth of pay stubs or profit and loss statements.

Proof of Retirement Income 

If the prospective buyer is retired, the bank may require documents to verify retirement income, such as social security statements, pension statements, or IRA or 401K statements.

Bank Account Statements

The bank may also request bank account statements for the past three months. If the prospective buyer has both checking and savings accounts, they should submit statements for both accounts.

Copy of Lease or Rental Verification

The bank may also request a copy of the prospective buyer’s current lease or a form signed by the landlord. The mortgage broker or bank may contact the landlord to verify rent paid and whether or not it was paid on time.

Employment Verification

Sometimes, the bank requests an employment verification form. This is simply a form that a prospective buyer’s employer fills out and signs. The form includes information about the prospective buyer’s salary, length of employment, whether there is going to be a change in the prospective buyer’s employment status and whether the prospective buyer may have a raise scheduled.

Tax Returns

The lender will request at least one year’s tax returns among the documents needed for mortgage loans. Many brokers will ask for up to three years of tax returns. The full tax return should be submitted.

Documents Needed for Mortgage Refinance

If the prospective buyer is refinancing a home, the new mortgage broker or bank may also request a copy of the current mortgage and note. Mortgages are filed in the public records and are easily accessible to the prospective buyer. Notes are not always filed and the prospective buyer may have to contact the old lender for a copy of the note. Often, these notes are sold to third parties and cannot be easily tracked down. Mortgage companies know and understand this, so a note is usually not required among the mandatory documents for mortgage refinancing.