Mortgage Loan Process
Buying or refinancing your home is a monumental moment. Although, the process shouldn't be. We have provided an easy to follow, five step process explaining how each step works and how it applies to you. Let's get started!
Step 1: Pre-qualify for a loan
Pre-qualification for a loan will give an estimate of how much money you may borrow, so you may concentrate on homes within your price range. This includes pulling credit by filling out a form and mortgage application, at no cost to you. Once qualified, you will receive a loan worksheet of your estimate on what the loan fees and interest rate are on the loan. Additionally the estimated payment and funds needed to close are included. This is the key step the home ownership process.
Step 2: Find your home
During this step, we will prepare updated worksheets to show you the financial possibilities based on the homes you are looking at to include actual tax figures. Acceptance will send your buyer’s customized loan qualification letters to the amount of the loan you are looking at based on the price of the home they are looking at (not just the list price but the actual price you are going to offer). This helps the you have a better chance to get the home if your loan qualification letter is attached with the offer. Some selling agents require a letter when the offer is submitted.
Step 3: Recieve your contract
Once your home is found and the paperwork is complete, the title company (who gathers all the paperwork from both the buyer’s agent and sellers agent) will send out the executed contract. Once Acceptance receive the paperwork, the loan shifts from a pre-qualification to a loan application automatically (not a signature issue but a disclosure issue) and Acceptance has three days to send out all the loan application paperwork, forms and loan estimate (LE).
Step 4: Processing
After signing your mortgage application, the loan moves into processing where we verify the borrower’s income, assets and employment history along with open title, order an appraisal and have the buyer select a home insurance policy for the home. We also select the final rate and loan program and lock it in for the amount of time needed to close. Once all this is done, the loan is submitted for loan approval.
The underwriter will review the loan and make sure it qualifies. Once the appraisal, title and all documents are received/reviewed and found to be satisfactory, the underwriter issues a Clear to Close – final approval with no additional conditions.
Step 5: Closing
The attorneys will prepare a Closing Disclosure and all parties will select the date/time to close the transaction. This date is mandated on the contract so our job as the lender is to have all the paperwork in time to meet the closing date. Once the Closing Disclosure (CD) is sent to the buyer and title company and we typically close on the 3rd day from the date the CD is sent.