The Mortgage Process
Cary, NC
The mortgage process and the mortgage application process can be a little intimidating, especially for first time home buyers.
It's a known fact that "Knowledge is Power". With that in mind, here's a step-by-step guide to the mortgage application process as your home loan goes from preapproval to closing.
UNDERSTANDING THE MORTGAGE PROCESS
The key to having a successful home buying or refinance is understanding the mortgage process. Knowledge is power and understanding the home loan process will alleviate frustration, remove the stress and make your mortgage transaction smooth and enjoyable... as it should be!
Step 1:
Pre-Qualification
Getting prequalified for a mortgage is the process of verbally giving your income and asset information and having your loan officer run a credit check to tell you what's possible for your home loan options.
Step 2:
Pre Approval
Mortgage Pre-Approval lends legitimacy to a pre-qualification by reviewing the borrower's income and asset documentation to verify what was verbally discussed in Step 1. Once pre-approved, you can shop for your home with the comfort
Step 3:
Home Shopping
Welcome to the fun part of your journey. Now that you're fully pre-approved, you can shop for the home of your dreams, make offers and get your offer accepted to go under contract. This is truly the best part of the process besides closing.
Step 4:
Your Under Contract
Congratulations!
Being under contract means your offer was accepted and you now have around 30 to 45 days (normally) to polish off the mortgage requirements and do your due diligence on the property. At this point, your Realtor will guide you on some next steps and your loan officer will move your loan to disclosures and processing.
Step 5:
Locking Your Rate & Disclosing Your Loan
Locking Your Rate & Disclosing Your Loan
Now that you're under contract, it's Go Time! Your loan officer will give you the mortgage rate options for you to choose from. Once selected, your home loan application will move to the Disclosures department where the team will send you initial disclosures that need to be signed before your loan can move forward to the next stage. This will normally happen within 24 hours of you going under contract on your new home.
Step 6:
Processing
Processing
After disclosures are signed, your loan application moves to a Processor assigned specifically to you. The Processor's job is to collect further documents, order the appraisal and title work and prepare a clean file for underwriting. Processors are a key team component as they work diligently to keep us all on the right time frame to meet your due diligence and closing on time and without surprises.
Step 7:
Underwriting
Underwriting
Once your Processor has everything he/she needs, the file moves to underwriting where every piece of paper we've requested is reviewed for accuracy and income and assets are verified to ensure nothing was missed in the earlier stages. This is as much to make sure you qualify as it is to make sure you can afford the loan and aren't depleting all of your savings.
Step 8:
Your Loan Approval
Your Loan Approval
Underwriting then issues a "conditional loan approval". This means you are approved pending any additional documents like an updated paystub, and the receipt of a satisfactory appraisal and title work. At this point, your Processor will be back in touch to collect the final items and once the appraisal and title work are completed, your loan will move back to underwriting one last time to sign off and prepare you for closing.
Step 9:
Cleared to Close
Cleared to Close
You've sent everything back to processing and your underwriter has reviewed it. You are now "Clear to Close". You can breathe a big sigh of relief as the remaining steps are on your mortgage team who will prepare the closing documents for the attorney who will be closing your loan. The closing department and attorney will work out the final figures and you'll be instructed as to the final amount you'll need to bring to your closing.
Step 10:
Closing
Closing
At closing you'll have either wired money to the closing attorney's office ahead of time or you'll have brought a cashier's check for the down payment and closing costs. You'll arrive at the attorney's office with nothing left to do but sign the documents. The closing attorney will review each page with you and then, after signing, they will record your loan with the county. Once everything is recorded, you will receive your keys and are free to move into the property.
Step 11:
Congratulations
Congratulations
You've just successfully navigated the home buying process and you're the proud owner of your new home!! The only thing left to do is to move out of your old home and into the new one. Sorry but we can't help with that part. We push papers, not furniture. Hopefully you have some family and friends at the ready.
Step 12:
Other Things...
Other Things...
We'll have worked our butts off to help you get your new home and we sincerely hope you've enjoyed the experience, or at the very least, found it not stressful or nerve racking. We may reach out to you to ask if you'd be willing to rate us on Google or Facebook or Both because rave reviews from folks like you is what we strive for and helps us build our business. It's the number 1 thing we want from the first conversation through future conversations and we hope we've exceeded your expectations along the way.
Understanding the Mortgage Process Begins with Choosing the Best Loan Officer
You can't be expected to learn everything about every program AND know exactly which mortgage program is right for you AND know the mortgage process.
That's your loan officer's job to do that for you!
We take care to review your information and determine which programs you qualify for and the pros and cons of each so we can share it with you and help you make the right choice for yourself.
Click below to get started today.
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