For most homebuyers, securing financing through a mortgage loan is the best option to purchase a property. Getting an overall idea of the mortgage underwriting process can help you when working with a mortgage lender and can help you prepare for each step of the journey.
What is mortgage underwriting?
After you send in a mortgage loan application, it goes through the underwriting process. Your lender reviews key pieces of information to determine if you’re financially able to pay them back for the loan.
A mortgage underwriter reviews your credit score, credit history, employment information and assesses the mortgage loan amount to see if it’s worth the investment for the lending company.
Tell me the steps of the mortgage underwriting process
There are 5 main steps to the mortgage underwriting process. Theses include:
- Getting your loan application preapproved.
- Verification of your assets and income.
- Appraisal for qualification.
- Verification of no titles on the property and title insurance.
- Final decision to approve or deny the mortgage application.
How strict is mortgage underwriting?
Overall, an average of 7 to 14 percent of mortgage applications are denied yearly. Most lenders abide by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines during the lending process. Government backed loans such as an FHA or VA loan adhere to regulations of the Federal Housing Administration.
Sometimes, lenders will implement their own regulations on top of the standard ones in response to economic factors or other conditions, which is called an overlay.
Getting approved or a loan gives homebuyers more freedom when making a property purchase. By reviewing the underwriting process, you can prepare needed documentation and get a better idea of the timeline for approval.
About the Author
Sandy Malbrue
Hi, I'm Sandy Malbrue and I'd love to assist you. Whether you're in the research phase at the beginning of your real estate search for representation or you know exactly what you're looking for, you'll benefit from having a real estate professional by your side. I'd be honored to put my 14 years real estate experience to work for you. Be it to gain wide exposure for your home with my marketing plan, negotiate offers or manage the transaction once you've accepted an offer, in a way that will get you the best price and cause the least amount of disruption to you life as possible.
If you are a buyer, allow me put those skills to work for you to help with the pre-approval process, work with you to locate and arrange for you to view homes of interest to you , and negotiate your offer. Once you have an accepted offer, I will help you arrange inspections, I will manage the transaction for you, from helping to arrange for inspections to keeping you up to date on contingency removals and walking you through the process to a new set of keys.
Let's do this!