Having your finances in order is one of the most crucial steps to successfully purchasing a property.
Create a file of important financial documents.
This file should contain the following applicable documents that most lenders will as you to provide as part of your pre-approval and underwriting process.
- Financial statements
- Bank accounts
- Investments
- Credit cards
- Auto loans
- Recent pay stubs
- Tax returns for two years
- Copies of any leases for investment properties
- 401K statements, life insurance, stocks, bonds, and mutual account information
Check your credit rating.
Your credit score will have a huge impact on what type of loan products will be available and at what interest rate, and mortgage insurance (if applicable). Monitoring your credit rating with an experienced lending institution can be helpful to have a ballpark of your existing credit score, though lenders have their own credit pull and will research your credit ratings from the three credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
We will be happy to recommend experienced and knowledgeable lenders for whatever your real estate goals are. There is tremendous value in working with local lenders who understand the market and have relationships with Cottage Real Estate. This ensures your loan process goes as smoothly and as communicatively as possible.
Be mindful of your financial choices.
Now is not a good time to make sudden career changes or large purchases. Reserve all major purchases or career moves until after you have successfully closed on your new property. Should you go out and modify your debt to income ratio during the property purchasing process, you may inadvertently put yourself in a position where you can no longer purchase the home you had planned to close on. Never a good situation to be in.