What info do you need for pre-approval?

And how specific does it have to be? DH and I are going to get pre-approved tomorrow, but won't start seriously looking till Jan. Meanwhile I get a substantial raise in Feb. and DH is going to teach an overload, so our income next year will be significantly more. Do we need proof of income? Thanks for any info.

Re: What info do you need for pre-approval?

It depends on the realestate agent... All we needed was our SS# so they could get our fica scores and they wanted the amount we made last year, what it said on our tax returns.
I told them that we both just got a salary increase and they factored that in.
What they are really looking for is a debit to income ratio and how much they believe you can afford each month. If your fica scores are good, you should have no problem!
Good Luck!

Re: What info do you need for pre-approval?

Do you mind my asking how come you're getting pre-approved so early? FI and I were going to start seriously looking in Jan also and we thought we should get pre-approved in dec or jan. Is there a reason we should do it earlier? Thanks!

Re: What info do you need for pre-approval?

when we went to get pre-approved, we had to submit paperwork including an application, as well as pay stubs, bank info and tax info. I think that if you want to get pre-qualified, you can do that without proof of income. Then they are basically going on your word. I could be wrong, but I was pretty sure this was how it worked.

Re: What info do you need for pre-approval?

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Posted by NPbride

Do you mind my asking how come you're getting pre-approved so early? FI and I were going to start seriously looking in Jan also and we thought we should get pre-approved in dec or jan. Is there a reason we should do it earlier? Thanks!

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I don't think you need to rush. There was a house DH and I really liked, and we decided to call about it after the wedding. It's in contract, and the agent asked me if we were pre-qualified, and I said no. It made me think that maybe he thought that we weren't that serious, and while at this point we aren't, we really did like this house and who knows what would have happened if it was still available.

Plus, tomorrow we are going to open a joint account, and DH figured that we'd just save ourselves a second trip to the bank.

Re: What info do you need for pre-approval?

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Posted by TracyInQueens

I don't think you need to rush. There was a house DH and I really liked, and we decided to call about it after the wedding. It's in contract, and the agent asked me if we were pre-qualified, and I said no. It made me think that maybe he thought that we weren't that serious, and while at this point we aren't, we really did like this house and who knows what would have happened if it was still available.

Plus, tomorrow we are going to open a joint account, and DH figured that we'd just save ourselves a second trip to the bank.

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Oh, I see. Thanks for answering! Good luck house hunting!

Re: What info do you need for pre-approval?

i did mine over the phone w/ ML and answered a variety of questions. took about 10-15 minutes and then a couple hours later i received the pre-approval letter via email. a hard copy was also sent via mail.

once we find a house and want to secure the mortgage, they said they are going to need to verify all the info (hard copies). all i do now is call every 90 days and they update the pre-approval for another 90 days.

Re: What info do you need for pre-approval?

'all i do now is call every 90 days and they update the pre-approval for another 90 days.'

Did you have to put money down to keep the same interest rate?

Re: What info do you need for pre-approval?

no. we opted for an interest only mortgage so the interest rate will fluctuate (not sure if we can lock in w/ interest only). i do know that if we do lock in (on fixed) it was about $150.

we probably should lock because rates are rising and prices are dropping. it works out equally if you locked in at a low rate and paid a high price vs higher interest rate and lower priced home. we would definetly we at an advantage if we lock in low and pay low. i am up for another renewal soon, so i will talk to him about locking and interest only. i don't see why we can't.

they also mentioned that we are not bound to an interest only and we can change once we secure a home.