Can I Be Approved For A Mortgage

Get Your Financial Paperwork In Order

You are under no obligation by getting pre-approved, but you want to be comfortable with the amount and terms of your pre-approved mortgage. That’s why it’s essential that you review all your personal expenses and have a good idea of your future expenses before you talk with a mortgage broker or lender about pre-approval. Learn more about knowing how much you can afford.

How Long Does Preapproval Last

Preapproval doesn’t last forever. Check your expiration date and keep it in mind as you look at homes. Though it varies from lender to lender, preapproval is typically valid for 60 90 days. If you haven’t settled on a house, you can request a renewal by giving your lender your most up-to-date financial and credit information.

Save For A Bigger Down Payment

A larger down payment reduces the amount your lender needs to loan you. This makes your loan less risky for the lender because they lose less money if you default. Saving for a larger down payment can help you become a more appealing candidate for a loan and can even convince a lender to cut you some slack in other application areas. Use these tips to increase your down payment fund:

• Budget for savings. Take a look at your monthly budget and decide how much you can afford to save each month. Hold your down payment fund in a separate savings account and resist the temptation to spend any of it.
• Pick up a side hustle. In the on-demand “gig” economy, it’s never been easier to earn extra cash outside of your job. Drive for a ridesharing service, deliver food for local businesses or pick up a few spare tasks on a site like TaskRabbit.
• Sell some of your things. Sites like eBay, Poshmark and ThredUp make it simple to sell old things you no longer use. Search around your home for things you think you can sell and list them.

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Find The Right Lender

Choosing the right lender is important as theres more to a lender than the interest rates theyre offering. Chances are youve had some experience with financial institutions that offer mortgages. You should look back on how these companies have helped you in the past before adding a mortgage to your relationship.

To truly feel comfortable about your decision, meet with a few different lenders to see what mortgage products and services they offer. You should also ask about mortgage payment options for example, can you increase your payments at any time? What would the penalties be if you were forced to break your mortgage? Keep in mind that youll have this mortgage for some time perhaps 20 years or longer so its important to be clear about what youre signing up for.

Here Is The Mortgage Approval Process That We Follow In Our Shop:

Rather than rely on assumptions, our mortgage approval process is designed to provide you with answers that you can rely on as early in the process as possible so that you can make decisions and progress towards your property objective with confidence and clarity.

Discovery Call – We discuss your financial situation and property objective , estimate your borrowing capacity, and identify any obstacles you may encounter. This helps you clarify your situation and provide you with an action plan to move forward, before you ever have to fill out an application.

Pre-Approval – We review your mortgage application and supporting documents, pull your credit report, and determine the best lenders and mortgage products for you. You will have a clear and reliable understanding of the lending options that are available to you BEFORE you make any final decisions or purchase commitments. This stage should confirm the information discussed in the initial discussion and hopefully not uncover any surprises.

Approval– Show you the money! We submit your file to the chosen lender and work with you to meet their closing conditions. Upon the lender’s final approval of your documents and the subject property, the contract is finalized and the mortgage funds.

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What Is The Difference Between Pre

Both pre-qualification and pre-approval involve a review of an applicant’s credit report. The difference is the degree of credit review. Pre-qualification involves a quick review of one’s credit and only provides a potential borrower with a general idea of how much mortgage they could qualify for and under what terms. Pre-approval involves a full credit review, while only offered for a limited time window, provides the potential borrower with a solid offer of credit from a lender with which they can use to make good faith offers on homes for sale.

What Affects Your Home Loan Preapproval

Your income and saving are two key factors that lenders will consider during the mortgage process. However, other factors can affect how long preapproval will take and whether or not youll be preapproved at all.

Employment Status

Self-employed individuals almost always have a more challenging time getting preapproved. In addition to meeting standard loan requirements, they are asked to prove their line of work and/or the ownership of their business.

Only borrowers who have an ownership interest of 25% or more in a business and are not W-2 employees are considered self-employed. However, there is an exception if the borrower can show a two-year history in a similar line of work, which includes having documentation that proves an equal or higher income in the new role compared to the W2 position.

Debt-to-Income Ratio

The debt-to-income ratio is the percentage of your monthly gross income that goes toward paying debts. There are two types of DTI that lenders will consider during the mortgage process: front-end and back-end. The first consists only of your housing-related expenses, whereas the latter also includes all your minimum required monthly debts.

The lower your DTI, the better your chances of securing a home loan. Anything over 50% is considered unacceptable by lenders, but keep in mind that the specific DTI requirements will vary depending on the type of loan you’re getting.

Loan-to-Value Ratio

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Why Should I Get Pre

A pre-approval serves as a loan offer. Getting more than one pre-approval creates more than one offer so you can compare rates and fees. This is different from comparing rate quotes you see on lender websites. Rate quotes are based on an average borrower pre-approval rates are based on your actual financial data.

Estimate How Much House You Can Afford

To help you get started, you can use our calculator on top to estimate the home price, closing costs, and monthly mortgage payments you can afford based on your annual income. For our example, lets suppose you have an annual income of $68,000. Youre looking to get a 30-year fixed-rate loan at 3.25% APR. For your down payment and closing costs, youve saved $55,000. See the results below.

• Annual income: $68,000

Based on the table, if you have an annual income of $68,000, you can purchase a house worth $305,193. You may qualify for a loan amount of $252,720, and your total monthly mortgage payment will be $1,587. Since your cash on hand is $55,000, thats less than 20% of the homes price. This means you have to pay for private mortgage insurance . Take note: This is just a rough estimate. The actual loan amount you may qualify for may be lower or higher, depending on your lenders evaluation.

The following table breaks down your total monthly mortgage payments:

According to the table, your principal and interest payment is $1,099.85. When we add property taxes and home insurance, your total monthly mortgage payment will be $1,481.34. But because you must pay PMI, it adds $105.30 to your monthly payment, which results in a total of $1,587 every month.

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Check Your Credit Score

In Canada, credit scores run from 300 to 900 across five categories: Poor, Fair, Good, Very Good, and Excellent. The exact categories vary based on which credit bureau is being used, but the process is essentially the same. Your credit score is a snapshot of your overall financial health, so itâs important that you know what yours is.

Mortgage lenders will use your credit score to gauge your financial trustworthiness and ability to repay your debts. The higher your credit score, the more likely youâll be offered the lowest mortgage rates in Canada. Ideally, you want your score to be at least 660, but higher is always better. In addition to your overall numerical score, your credit report will also contain information about late payments, the number of accounts you have open, your overall debt levels, and the length of your credit history. Making loan and bill repayments on time and not using too much of your available credit will generally leave you with a higher score.

You can check your credit score for free with several online companies. Online credit checks will pull your score from one of Canadaâs two credit bureaus, Equifax or TransUnion. Itâs a good idea to check your score each quarter, and do everything you can to increase your credit score.

If You Get Declined For Your Preapproval Dont Despair

• Find out why you were declined, so you can figure out what to do to improve your chances of getting a loan in the future.
• Ask the lender to explain why you were declined. Was your credit score too low? Was there specific negative information on your credit report?
• Ask to see a copy of the credit score the lender used. If the lender used your credit score to deny your preapproval request, the lender must send you a notice with the credit score they used to make the decision and instructions on how to get a free copy of your credit report.
• If there are errors on your credit report, get them corrected.
• If you need help improving your credit, contact a HUD-approved housing counselor. You can find a counselor online or by calling 1-800-569-4287.

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How To Get Pre Approved For A Mortgage

Are you wondering how to get pre approved for a mortgage? Its one step in the home buying process you shouldnt overlook.

Mortgage pre-approval means that a lender has conditionally approved you for a set home loan amount, based on your credit and finances. Having a mortgage pre-approval letter in your pocket can streamline the mortgage application process later since the lender already has your information and has verified your documents.

Although some information can change and the lender may need to re-verify some of your documents, your credit standing cannot change during the commitment period without impacting your loan.

Changes in the financial conditional and application information could jeopardize the approval status of the application. Avoid taking on additional credit obligations during this period.

Additional contingencies may include an approval up to a maximum interest rate since the rate cannot be locked until the ratified purchase contract is received.

A pre-approval can also give you an edge when youre ready to make an offer on your new home. The pre-approval shows sellers that youre committed to buying and that you can back up your offer with financing. In a bidding war, a pre-approved buyer may win over a buyer who hasnt started the application process.

How to get pre approved for a mortgage starts with knowing what to expect.

Learn More About The Benefits Of Prequalification And Preapproval

As you look for a home, you may be asked to get prequalified or preapproved. Before you start, its important to understand the difference.

When you want to talk to a lender to establish a general range of home prices, you can get prequalified, which is simply a lenders estimate of what you could potentially borrow.

This can be completed easily and conveniently online, in person, or over the phone in just a few minutes with basic information like your income and expected down payment.

When you want to give yourself a competitive edge over other buyers in the market, you can get preapproved. Having a preapproval lets sellers know that you already qualify for the home financing which greatly increases your chance of having your offer selected.

Unlike prequalification, preapproval is a more specific estimate of what you could borrow from your lender and requires documents such as your W2, recent pay stubs, bank statements and tax returns.

The lender will then use these documents to determine exactly how much you can be preapproved to borrow.

Once youre preapproved, youll have 90 days to find a home you love. Then you can lock your rate and complete your application.

Whether you choose to get prequalified or preapproved, you will have a better sense of whats in your price range and can hunt for a house with confidence.

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Why Apply For A Mortgage Pre

A mortgage pre-approval is an important part of the home buying process. If you are pre-approved, it means that a lender has stated that you qualify for a mortgage loan based on the information you have provided, and subject to certain conditions. A mortgage pre-approval often specifies a term, interest rate and principal amount. Although not a required step, it is helpful as it can give you a clearer picture of how much house you may be able to afford.

How Can I Get Approved For A Mortgage

Many Canadians feel that owning a home is a top priority and to get there, youll need a mortgage. Thats why finding both the right mortgage and the right lender are very important.

If youve never been through the process of getting a mortgage before, its really not that complicated, as long as you understand these 6 essential steps:

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Ask The Lender For An Exception

Believe it or not, it is possible to ask the lender to send your file to someone else within the company for a second opinion on a rejected loan application. In asking for an exception, you’ll need to have a very good reason, and you’ll need to write a carefully worded letter defending your case.

If you have a one-time event, such as a charged-off account, impacting your credit, explain why the incident was a one-time event and that it will never occur again. A one-time event could be due to unexpected medical expenses, natural disaster, divorce, or a death in the family. The blemish on your record will actually need to have been a one-time event. Also, you’ll need to be able to back your story up with an otherwise solid credit history.

Why Would You Get Rejected For A Mortgage

These are some of the common reasons for being refused a mortgage: You’ve missed or made late payments recently. You’ve had a default or a CCJ in the past six years. You’ve made too many credit applications in a short space of time in the past six months, resulting in multiple hard searches being recorded on your …

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How To Use The Pre

Our pre-qualification calculator can provide an idea of what to expect before you talk to a lender. All we need are a few pieces of information about you and your finances:

After completing each required field, youll see the loan amount we recommend, as well as a higher loan amount. We show two pre-qualification amounts because:

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Consider Other Lenders And Fha Loans

Banks don’t all have the same credit requirements for a mortgage. A large bank that doesn’t underwrite many mortgage loans will likely operate differently than a mortgage company that specializes in home loans. Local banks and community banks are also great options. The key is to ask a lot of questions regarding their requirements, and from there, you can assess which financial institution is right for you. Just remember, banks can’t discourage you from applying .

In other words, sometimes one lender may say no while another may say yes. However, if every lender rejects you for the same reason, you’ll know that it’s not the lender and you’ll need to correct the problem.

Some banks have programs for low-to-moderate-income borrowers, and they could be part of the FHA loan program. An FHA loan is a mortgage insured by the Federal Housing Administration , which means the FHA reduces the risk for banks to issue mortgage loans. You’ll have to find a local bank that’s an FHA-approved lender. The advantage of FHA loans is that they require lower down payments and credit scores than most traditional mortgage loans.