refinancing

Documents Needed for a Mortgage

What documents are needed for a mortgage loan approval?

Years ago there was actually a no documents loan process for certain types of loans. Those are not applicable in today’s world of mortgage lending. Today we’re providing you with a list of documents that are needed for final loan approval. Some documents are required whether the loan is for a purchase or a refinance; others are pertinent to a specific type of loan.

Documents needed for either a purchase or refinance are as follows:

Most recent pay stubs, showing a 30-day period
Past two years W-2 forms and/or 1099’s (if self-employed)
Signed Federal Personal Tax Returns for past two years
Signed Federal Business Tax returns if applicable
Asset statements for a 2 month period, or most recent quarterly statement. This should include any and all of the following and must include ALL pages.
- Checking
- Savings
- Stocks
- Bonds
- Mutual funds
- Money Market
- 401 K’s
- IRA’s
If the property is or will be held in a Trust, provide Trust documentation
For Investment properties:
- Lease agreement for rental properties
- Mortgage statement
- Property tax bill
- Homeowner’s Insurance Policy
- HOA or Condo fees, if applicable
Hazard Insurance (homeowner’s insurance) Policy
Complete Divorce/Separation Agreement /Property Settlement agreements, if applicable
School Transcripts and Diploma if you are a recent graduate
Contact name and phone number for Verification of Employment

For VA loans, the following is required:

VA Certificate of Eligibility
Original statement of service or DD-214

For Purchases only, we need the following:

Ratified Sales contract
Copy of Earnest Money Deposit AND bank statement showing the check has cleared your account
Name, address and phone number of landlords for past 2 years if currently renting
Sales Contract for existing home if selling and vacating to purchase new home
Settlement Statement from the sale of current residence if vacating to purchase new home

For Refinances only

Copy of most recent mortgage statement
Copy of Owner’s Title Policy or settlement statement indicating that you have owner’s title insurance
Copy of existing Homeowner’s Insurance Policy

Whether you’re purchasing or refinancing a property, you can download a copy of this List of Documents to help aid in your search for a loan. This list will be helpful to both you and your Lender as you work through the processing of your loan.

MORTGAGE LOAN REFINANCE

Generally speaking, a loan refinance is a new loan to replace an old loan. Let’s look at the various reasons why a refinance would be appropriate.

LOWER MONTHLY PAYMENTS – If your current interest rate high, refinancing at a lower rate can save you significant money each month. For example, if your loan amount was $300,000 and your rate is 5%, your monthly Principal and Interest (P&I) payment would be $1,633 per month. If you refinance the same $300,000 at a rate of 4%, your monthly P&I payment would be $1,432 or a savings of $201 per month. This equates to a savings of $2,412 per year and will save you $12,060 in five short years!

LOWER INTEREST RATES – Interest rates can be lowered due to a change in the industry as a whole, such as the example above. Interest rates can also be lowered by shortening the term of the loan. 15 year rates will be lower than 30 years loans. Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARM’s) are loans that are fixed for a specific time period such as 3, 5 7 or 10 years and will typically be offered at rates lower than a 30 year fixed loan.

SHORTEN LOAN TERM – A loan refinance can be considered as a way to reduce the length of your loan. Changing from a 30 year loan to a 15 year loan can greatly reduce the number of payments needed to pay off your loan. This is often used by borrower’s who have increased incomes since the beginning of their initial loan and can afford the higher monthly payments.

CHANGE FROM ‘ARM’ TO FIXED – Adjustable Rate Mortgages are fixed for a period of time and then they begin to adjust or change rates on an annual basis. Refinancing to a fixed rate term alleviates potential rate increases that can occur with the ARM’s.

COMBINE TWO LOANS INTO ONE – When purchasing a home, many borrowers obtain two loans to reduce the amount of down payment or to keep from paying mortgage insurance. As the value of the home increases, a single mortgage can replace both loans at a lower rate than the original two loans.

ELIMINATE MORTGAGE INSURANCE – Initial loans with a down payment of less than 20% will often have monthly mortgage insurance payments as part of the mortgage payment. Also, FHA loans include monthly mortgage insurance payments that you continue to pay for as long as you own the loan. As the loan balances decrease and property values increase, refinancing into a new loan with a loan-to-value of at least 80% will eliminate the need for mortgage insurance payments.

CASH OUT –With enough equity in a property, refinancing is a great way to get cash that can be used for virtually any reason.
Some examples may be:

-Home Renovations/Additions
-Auto purchase
-Boat purchase
-Medical bills
-College Education
-Pay off other debts that carry higher interest rates such as credit cards

If any of these scenarios seem to match your situation, please feel free to contact me to discuss how a mortgage loan refinance can benefit you.

JS Realty Keith Harris — Keith Harris
NMLS # 838973

Keith Harris
Senior Loan Officer
Intercoastal Mortgage Company
Direct: (703) 259-0788
Cell: (703) 395-6601

The JS Realty Team – not only serving Brambleton, serving all of Northern Virginia.

MORTGAGE LOAN FEES

What Fees are Associated with a Mortgage Loan?

There are a number of fees that a borrower may encounter when finalizing a mortgage loan for a real estate purchase or a refinance. We’ve compiled a list of fees that are part of the settlement for a mortgage loan. The fees can be separated into several categories: lender fees, escrow deposits, prepaid items, title fees, government recording and transfer fees, and additional settlement fees.

LENDER FEES

-Origination Charges – these are comprised of fees charge by the lender to process and underwrite the loan
-Discount Points – these are charges to the borrower for a particular loan interest rate or certain loan program
-Credit Report – fees charged to run a credit report for the borrower
–Appraisal fee – cost to have a licensed professional provide a market value of the property
-Flood Certification Fee – this is needed to determine if your property is located in a flood zone and if flood insurance is needed on the property

PREPAID ITEMS

–Daily Interest Charges – interest is paid from date of settlement through the end of the same calendar month
–Homeowner’s Insurance – initial premium is paid upfront
–Mortgage Insurance (if necessary)

INITIAL ESCROW DEPOSITS

Most loans require the borrower to pay for property taxes and homeowner’s insurance on a monthly basis as part of the mortgage loan payment. When property taxes are due (typically twice a year), and homeowner’s insurance (annually) the lender will pay the bills out of the escrow funds.

TITLE FEES

-Settlement fee – Charged by the settlement company for preparation of closing documents and conducting the closing.
-Lender’s title insurance – cost of insurance covering the amount of the loan. This is required by the lender and covers title issues for the life of the loan.
-Owner’s title insurance – OPTIONAL coverage for the owner’s to protect against any tile claims on the property. This policy will protect the owner’s forever.

GOVERNMENT RECORDING AND TRANSFER FEES

–Government Recording Fee – fee charged by government to record the deed of trust
–Transfer Taxes – basically a sales tax that is paid to the local government as well as the state government

ADDITIONAL SETTLEMENT CHARGES

There can be several “additional” fees associated with a loan. Here are a few:

-Pest Inspection
-Survey
-HOA/Condo Transfer fees
-HOA/Condo dues

If you have any questions about a loan, or would like clarification on any of these charges or fees associated with mortgage loans, please contact our preferred Lender, Keith Harris at Intercoastal Mortgage Company.

The JS Realty Team – not only serving Brambleton, serving all of Northern Virginia.

WHY MORTGAGE RATES CHANGE

What causes changes in mortgage rates? There are any number of reasons for mortgage interest rates to fluctuate and we’ve broken down some of the more common reasons to help you gain a better understanding of this ever-evolving market.

Mortgage Bond Prices:
Interest rates and mortgage bond prices are inversely related. If mortgage bond prices go up, interest rates go down.

Economic Conditions:
Generally speaking, when economic reports/conditions are positive, interest rates will rise. Just this week, the report on retail sales was flat versus the expected .2% increase. This helped keep interest rates down. Last week the jobs report was positive, unemployment was lower than expected and more jobs were added to the economy, which caused interest rates to spike. These are subtle changes that can greatly affect the mortgage industry.

Federal Reserve System:
Janet Yellen, Chair of the Federal Reserve System, plays a large role in the interest rates for the mortgage industry. For a number of years the Federal Government was purchasing large amounts of mortgage backed securities in an effort to keep interest rates low. The Fed monitors the economy and will influence the interest rates to control the economic growth of the US. By decreasing interest rates, the Fed is attempting to spark growth in the economy and encourage borrowing. If the economy is growing, they will use rising rates to control the growth.

Inflation:
Inflation is a prominent economic factor and a key concern for the industry. Inflation increases prices and decreases the spending power in the economy. As inflation rises, interest rates will also rise.

In summary, there are many factors that influence mortgage interest rates. All of these factors are outside of our personal control. When it comes time that you need a loan to purchase or refinance a home, you will be faced with making a decision to lock in your interest rate or let the rate “float” in hopes that the market improves and you can get a lower rate. Here is my advice in regards to that decision: It is much better to be locked in with rates falling than floating with rates rising.

JS Realty KHarris Lender — Keith Harris NMLS # 838973

Every borrower has a unique need, as far as their loan is concerned. If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact our preferred Lender, Keith Harris at Intercoastal Mortgage Company.

The JS Realty Team – not only serving Brambleton, serving all of Northern Virginia.

What documents are needed for a mortgage loan approval?

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