In order to qualify for a mortgage, your mortgage lender needs information about your financial situation. This will help them determine how much you can afford to spend on a house, what kind of monthly payments you can afford, and what mortgage loan program best suits your needs.

Some of the documents typically required to get a home loan include:

• Copy of your driver’s license
• Last 2 years of W2 statements from your employer
• Last 30 days of pay stubs
• Last 2 months of bank statements (both checking and savings) – all pages
• Name and phone number of your landlord to verify rental payments, if applicable
• Divorce decree or court order defining alimony or child support payments, if applicable
• Last quarter (3 months) of stocks/bonds/mutual funds/401K – all pages
• College transcripts (if you graduated within the last 2 years)
• Information on any deferred student loans

If you’re self-employed or commissioned, you may also want to have the following on hand:

• Last 2 years of individual and corporate tax returns – all pages and schedules.

The following items may also be helpful to have available:

• Last 2 years of individual tax returns – all pages and schedules
• Mortgage statement, tax bills, and homeowner’s insurance (if you currently own a home)

Types of Mortgage Documents

Basic Application Information
First things first: we need to learn a little bit about who you are. Along with a copy of your driver’s license, you’ll need to complete a mortgage application to outline some basic information about yourself like where you live, who you work for, etc.

Income Verification
A major part of qualifying for a mortgage loan revolves around your income. A lender can’t give you a loan if you have no way to prove that you have the funds to pay it back! To prove your income, you’ll need to provide W2s from the last two years, all pay stubs from the last 30 days, and possibly your tax returns from the last two years.
If you’re self-employed, an independent contractor, or do freelance work, you’ll need to provide the last two years’ worth of individual and corporate tax returns – all pages and schedules.
In addition, you’ll need to provide a divorce decree or court order defining alimony or child support payments, if you are divorced.

Assets and Debts
Your debts are just as important as your income in determining what kind of mortgage loan you can afford. If you have a monthly income of $4,000, but you have $2,500 in monthly debts, you only have so much wiggle room for your mortgage payment. So, your lender needs to see exactly what you’re working with.
This includes submitting the last two months’ bank statements (for both checking and savings); statements for any stocks, bonds, mutual funds, 401(k) funds, etc. from the last quarter (3 months); and any information on student loans.

Credit History
While you may not need to provide any formal documentation on your credit history, your lender will pull a credit report to see your FICO score. This will help determine your payment history, how much debt you owe, how long you’ve been an active credit user, what kinds of credit you’ve used, and any new lines of credit you’ve recently opened.
You also may need to provide documentation (or the contact information for your landlord) to verify your rental history.
Ready to get started? Download our helpful document list, and be sure to reach out to your local loan originator to get pre-approved today.