This is where our Mortgage Consultants will gather information through supporting documentation regarding your employment and income, available assets and any credit/liabilities you may have. The Mortgage Consultants take this information and complete an application for loan approval. The various fees and closing costs will be discussed while examining the many Loan Programs that are available to you. These costs will be verified by the Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and a Truth-In-Lending Statement (TIL) which you will receive within three days of signing your application.

Both a pre-qualification and a pre-approval are very similar but there is a difference:

• Pre-qualification - our experienced Mortgage Consultants review your financial information and from this cursory review, determine the likelihood of an approval and up to what price range.
• Pre-approval - our experienced Mortgage Consultants secure a conditional approval from the lender of choice for up to a specific amount of money. A pre-approval is an actual commitment from the lender to finance your transaction with stipulation you meet their listed conditions.

• First, searching for the right home can be time consuming and exhausting even if you know your price range. Knowing what you qualify for can save you and your realtor valuable time throughout this process. There is nothing more aggravating then finding the perfect home only to find out it is not within your price range. Conversely, with the numerous loan programs available and interest rates at all time lows, you may qualify for a price range much higher than you think.
• Another important reason to get a pre-qualification or pre-approval is to improve or set apart your offer when submitting it to the seller. In a competitive real estate market, where a seller can pick and choose between potential offers, presenting an offer with fewer conditions or questions can be difference between getting your offer accepted or not. When a seller takes their home off the market for a pending sale they want to know that they are not wasting their time. In addition, it may improve your negotiating power.
• Finally, a pre-qualification or pre-approval can typically shorten the length of time to close on the home. One of the most time consuming processes in securing a loan to close is for the lender to collect all the necessary financial documentation, signing the application, submitting your loan to the underwriter and waiting for the conditional approval. Taking care of this beforehand can cut the loan process in half and ensure an early or on time closing.

1. Employment/Income - your ability to repay the mortgage is verified by your current employment and total income. Generally speaking, lenders prefer for you to have been employed at the same place for at least two years, or at least be in the same line of work for a few years.
2. Assets - your assets verify your net worth and cash to close which includes your closing costs and down payment. In addition, lenders like to see reserves which act like a "rainy day fund" and provides the lender with the security in knowing you can make your mortgage payment for a period of time in the unfortunate case of a loss of income.
3. Credit/Liabilities - used to establish a willingness to repay the mortgage by verifying how you previously fulfilled your financial commitments including prior mortgages and rental payments. It also allows the lender to establish a debt to income ratio. Lenders prefer to see your total debt to be no more than 40-45% of your gross income. However, this ratio is not set in stone and can be higher with compensating factors.
4. Property - how the property will be used (primary residence, second home or investment property) and the type of property being financed affects the risk and willingness of repayment and therefore affect the rate and terms the lender is willing to offer.

If you are ready to get started you can Apply Online or contact one of our experienced Mortgage Consultants for more information.