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What Will Your Loan Officer Ask About?

 

If you’ve put off the house buying because you’re intimidated by the loan process, we want to demystify it a bit for you. Even though it can feel like you’re being grilled about every personal and financial decision you’ve ever made to the point you arrive at that office, a good loan officer should put you at ease. After all, a loan is a product and the meeting is really to take a look at your financials and then see if any of the products will work for you. So let’s go over the interview process.

The Basics

This part of the home-buying process is much like applying for any other type of loan. You’ll need to offer up your standard name, DOB, SSN (times two if you’re borrowing jointly), plus the names and ages of any dependents. You’ll also need to come prepared with addresses for the last two years. Easy enough.

The Financials

Next, your loan officer will want to know a bit about your obligations, including any debt you carry. By the way, if your student loan debt has you worried, know it’s not as relevant to the loan officer as other forms of debt, like credit cards or unpaid bills. Those can be a sign you’re living beyond your means already and a home loan would exacerbate that. Think of student loans as more of a neutral debt, assuming your monthly payment isn’t a disproportionate or too great a burden.  

The loan officer will also be looking at current rent or mortgage payments (including purchase price if you own), as well as an overview of all other recurring payment obligations.   

You’ll also want to come prepared with this info:

  • Bank name and balance(s):
  • Stocks held, name of brokerage and balance(s):
  • IRA(s), name of institution and balance(s):
  • 401K, name of institution and balance(s):

And of course, they’ll be double-checking your employment and salary history. Be sure to have the company HR rep’s contact info for the meeting. If you’re self-employed or a freelancer, here’s what you should know.

The Real Estate

If you’ve already chosen a home you’d like to put an offer in on, you’ll need to know all the financials on that too, along with contact information for your attorney and the seller’s agent. 

That said, as always, we really do recommend you start first with the loan officer before delving into the real estate part of your home search, tempting as it is and as much as we’d love to talk with you. Getting pre-qualified is good but getting pre-approved is better and that can only happen once you’ve had this sit-down with the loan officer. 

Remember, you’ll be providing all this info in order to find the perfect loan product for you. And then when you find your dream home, you’re already that much closer to offering.

 

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