How to Help Your Mortgage Company Find the Right Loan for You

By Gina Jackson
Cornerstone Mortgage Company

Are you afraid that your mortgage loan officer will require of you everything from your firstborn's birth certificate to your car title?  Not to worry.  While the disclosure of information is an important element in the loan process, an experienced loan officer will minimize the documentation needed for your loan.

This request for information also should not be piecemeal.  The biggest complaint in our industry is called "the dribble effect," where information is requested a little here, a little there, and the borrower is fed up by the end.  Your lender should provide you with a detailed list of information needed to underwrite your loan request.  This information  should be requested up front, to be received, perhaps, even before the initial meeting.

The following is a list of questions and requests which can help  your loan officer find just the right loan for you:

1. How long do you think you will be in the house?

2. What are your financial objectives regarding your mortgage?

3. What is the most important thing to you regarding the structure of your loan?  This could be any of the following:
       a.    the monthly payment (If so, how much do you want it to be?)
       b.    the term of the fixed rate (5, 10, or 15 years?)
       c.    a target payoff month and year
       d.    maximizing your tax deduction regarding your mortgage. (If you make over $150,000 a year, that tax deduction goes down at a sliding scale.)
       e.    having a level payment for a specific number of years
       f.     receiving a lower initial payment
   

4. Is there any special income tax planning you are striving to achieve?

5. Are you planning to prepay a portion or all of your loan due to an inheritance, the sale of a home, an anticipated bonus or a combination of other factors?

6. Disclose all financial information, please.  Full disclosure enables your lender to find the loan program best suited to your needs.  Included should be the mundane, such as banking statements, investment statements, pay stubs and consecutive tax returns, as well as up-front disclosure regarding any potential problems.  Being forthright about problems not only shows your honesty, but it may also save you money.  And do not be nervous!  Strict consumer compliance laws regarding confidentiality, most specifically "the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999," govern all lenders.

Finally, meet face to face with your lender.  It is not required, but advisable, as it helps to keep your lender accountable.  Whatever your situation, there is a loan that is right for you, one that responds to your priorities and needs.  Coming to your mortgage officer equipped with answers to important questions will help him or her identify the perfect loan for you.