If it’s been years since you prepared for a mortgage loan interview, don’t assume that it’s the same world of lending. Mortgage practices have changed and streamlined and you need to be armed with facts, figures, and information when you first visit the lender. Jumping into the loan process unarmed can cost you time, headaches, even money in the form of higher interest.

In this article we’ll explore what you’ll need to pull together to “wow” the lender when applying for a new mortgage loan. Although documentation might vary based on the type of loan you’re seeking as well as the lender you’re using, if you pull information together prior to your first visit with the lender, you’ll be in good shape.

There are five categories of information you’ll provide the lender. The first information is about you (and any co-borrower on the loan.) This will include your social security number, date of birth, home phone, marital status, number of dependents, and the number of years you attended school. Last in this category, you'll be asked for your current address and anywhere else you've lived during the past two years.

The second category of information is about your employment. Here you'll need to give the name, address and phone number of your current employer and information about other jobs you’ve held in the past two years. In addition, you'll be asked to list the type of work as well as the position. If you've had prior positions in this line of work, you'll need to give your salary amount for those jobs. This shows how you’ve progressed in your career and the wage increases you’ve earned. Don’t forget that education in your line of work could count towards your employment track record as well. At the very least, the lender could consider your training to be what lenders refer to as a “compensating factor”, allowing you to qualify for a larger loan size or perhaps a lower interest rate.

The lender needs information on these first two categories, personal and employment, in order to verify that you are the person you say you are; but this will also help determine your stability and that you take your responsibilities seriously.

If it’s been a while since you’ve last run the mortgage loan gauntlet, you may be surprised to find that even though it still feels like you’re providing a mountain of information, much of it (like your employment, income, and bank deposits) can be quickly verified. This is done by hard copies of information you bring to the lender (like your checking and savings account statements) or by the lender checking via telephone, fax, or electronic means. The days of snail-mailing employment verifications to the employer are all but dead and gone (thank heavens!)

In the next segment of this article, we’ll discuss the type of information the lender requires about your assets, the house you’re interested in (if your offer has already been accepted) as well as your debts (ick!)

Published: February 21, 2000

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Julie Garton-Good, DREI “The Frugal HomeOwner™” As a syndicated newspaper columnist, author and international speaker, Julie Garton-Good DREI, C-CREC™, is called “America’s Home Affordability Expert”, addressing more than 25,000 persons annually on topics of real estate industry trends and home affordability. She is the author of five real estate books and is the sole two-time recipient of the international "Real Estate Educator of the Year" award from the Real Estate Educators Association. In 1997, The National Association of Realtors® nominated Julie as one of the fifty most influential people in the real estate industry. She shared the list with only three other women.