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Home Ownership Accelerator

Home Loan Process

The Loan Process

Locate documents > Know your buying power > Shop for loans > Get Approved

If you are salaried, you’ll generally need 2 years of W-2 and one month of pay stubs.

If you are self-employed, you’ll generally need two years tax returns and a year-to-date profit and loss statement.

If you own rental property you’ll generally need to show rental agreements and two years tax returns.

It’s also a good idea to have three months of statements for each bank, stock and mutual fund account, including stock brokerage or IRA/401K accounts that you may have.

For refinances, you should locate a copy of your existing first mortgage note (normally found in your closing documents).

For cash-out refinances, you’ll need to provide a letter explaining what you plan to do with the proceeds.

If you are NOT a US citizen you’ll need a copy of your green card (front & back), or if you are NOT a permanent resident, you’ll need to provide your H-1 or L-1 visa.

Know your buying power

Pre-qualification:
This is meant to give you a rough idea of your purchase power. can typically pre-qualify you over the phone or on the Internet in a few minutes.

Pre—approval:
It is highly recommended that you get pre-approved before you start looking for a house. This process is more valuable and more thorough, and includes verification of your credit, income, assets and liabilities. Pre-approval will help you determine your exact purchase power, so you can focus on properties you can afford. It strengthens your negotiating power, since the seller knows you’re in a position to buy. It helps speed the closing process, since you loan is basically approved.

Shop for loans

Things to consider beforehand:
Think about how long you plan to keep the loan. If you plan to sell the house in a few years you may want to consider an adjustable or balloon loan. On the other hand, if you plan to keep the house for a longer time, you may want to look at fixed loans.

Understand when to pay points. Points are considered to be prepaid interest and are tax deductible. Each point is equal to one percent of the loan. So for example 1 point on a $150,000 loan is $1,500. The more points you pay, the lower the rate you will get. The longer you plan to stay in a house, the more it makes sense to pay points up front to get a lower rate.

You may have more options than you think. Shopping for a loan can be difficult. With so many programs to choose from, each of which has different rates, points and fees, it's hard to figure out which program is best for you. That's where an experienced loan officer can help you make a decision that's best for you.

Get Approved

We start the approval process immediately upon receiving your application. We look at four basic areas: credit history, employment history, your finances, and your property. Certain situations may require additional documents, which will be requested as we go. Critical things to improve the likelihood of approval:

Fill out the loan application completely and truthfully.
Respond promptly to requests for additional documents. Your rate may be locked and you are likely working against a closing deadline.
Don’t make major purchases, increase your debts, or move cash between accounts until your loan closes.
Be in town around your closing date, or have a power of attorney authorizing another individual to sign for you.

Loan closing
After your loan is approved, you will be required to sign the final loan documents. This will normally take place in front of a notary public. Be prepared to:

Review and sign the final loan documents. Make sure that the interest rate and loan terms are what you were promised. Also, verify that the name and address on the loan documents are accurate.
Provide funds (cashier’s check) for down payment and closing costs if required.

Your loan will normally close shortly after you have signed the loan documents.

Home Ownership Accelerator
The only loan to pay principal first. Save thousands in interest, and pay off years earlier without changing your spending habits. Retain full access to the equity you build via checks, ATM/POS card and online banking.

Visit us in Historic Webster
Located just east of the old train station in historic Webster Groves. Easy access from I-44. Take Elm north to Big Bend west and we're on the left.