If you’re thinking of buying a new home in Maryland, one of the first things you’ll want to consider (after you read last week’s blog!) is mortgage pre-approval. While it’s not required to get pre-approved for a mortgage before you begin your search, it will definitely help you in your search in a number of ways. Learn about the benefits of getting pre-approved, as well as what you’ll need in order to get pre-approved, in our blog.
What do you need to get pre-approved for a mortgage?
Mortgage Pre-Approval
What are the benefits of getting pre-approved?
There are a number of benefits of getting a mortgage pre-approval before you begin your search for a new home in Maryland.
- You’ll get a very good idea of how much home you can afford.
- You’ll be able to narrow down your search to houses in your price range.
- A mortgage pre-approval makes your offer more competitive against offers that don’t have pre-approval.
What do I need to do to get pre-approved?
In order to get pre-approved for a mortgage you’ll need to find a lender and provide them with the appropriate paperwork. Once you’ve submitted everything, you should get a response from the lender in a day or two.
Here’s a list of the items you’ll need to submit to the lender.
- Paystubs from the past 3 months.
- Tax returns from the past 2 years.
- W2 from the past 2 years.
- Your bank statements from the past 3 months (checking and savings).
- Statements from the past 2 years for any assets such as retirement accounts, stocks and bonds, etc.
- If you’re currently renting, the name and contact information for your landlord.
- If you’re self-employed, you’ll need to submit the tax returns from your business for the past 2 years, as well as your year-to-date profit and loss statement, and your year-to-date balance sheet.
- Your divorcee decree, if necessary.
- The lender will pull your credit report for you, and will charge you a modest upfront fee to do so.
How do I choose a mortgage lender?
There’s no one way to go about choosing a mortgage lender, but there are some tips that can help you with the process.
- Ask friends and family if they’ve had experience with a lender/can recommend a lender.
- Check out reviews of the lender online.
- See what kind of terms the lender offers and compare with other lenders.
Ask Us Your Questions
Do you have questions about buying a new home in Maryland? Grays Home Solutions has answers! Contact us today at 240-347-3141 to get your questions answered!