From time to time I talk with people who think it may be time to buy a home or maybe thinking of selling and buying another after many years. Often they are not sure what information is going to be asked of them by a lender. If that’s your situation and you want to go into this with a bit of understanding up front, here is a list compiled by Realtor Magazine, a publication of the National Association of Realtors.
□ W-2 forms — or business tax return forms if you’re self-employed — for the last two or three years for every person signing the loan.
□ Copies of at least one pay stub for each person signing the loan.
□ Account numbers of all your credit cards and the amounts for any outstanding balances.
□ Copies of two to four months of bank or credit union statements for both checking and savings accounts.
□ Lender, loan number, and amount owed on other installment loans, such as student loans and car loans.
□ Addresses where you’ve lived for the last five to seven years, with names of landlords if appropriate.
□ Copies of brokerage account statements for two to four months, as well as a list of any other major assets of value, such as a boat, RV, or stocks or bonds not held in a brokerage account.
□ Copies of your most recent 401(k) or other retirement account statement.
□ Documentation to verify additional income, such as child support or a pension.
□ Copies of personal tax forms for the last two to three years.
It’s good to have this information in-hand when you talk to a lender initially about qualifying for a loan, and especially when you apply for a loan on a specific house. You will want to have all the digging up of this information behind you when you are ready to “pull the trigger” on the house of your dreams.
Reprinted from REALTOR® magazine (REALTOR.org/realtormag) with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
