Your Mortgage Resource Center

Preparing for the Loan Process

Items Needed for Pre-approval

When you prepare for the pre-approval process, make sure you have these items ready to go to make things go faster:

• W2s from the last two years
• 1040 Federal Tax Returns from the last two years (all pages)
• If you are a business owner, you will need business tax returns and K1s
• 2 most recent paystubs
• 2 months of recent statements for all assets (checking, savings, money market, retirement, etc.)
• Driver’s license or passport
• Other documentation may include: offer letter for employment, school transcripts, social security or pension award letters, divorce decree, bankruptcy papers, short sale documentation 
  

Pre-Qualified

Getting pre-qualified means sharing your overall financial picture with us, including your debts, credit, income, and assets. We’ll review your information and provide an estimate of how much you may qualify to borrow. Pre-qualification is a quick, no-cost process that can be completed over the phone or online, typically within one to two days.



Once finished, you’ll receive a pre-qualification letter, a list of required documents, and a loan estimate. Please remember that pre-qualification doesn’t involve a detailed review of your supporting documentation; it’s based solely on the information you provided verbally or online.

Pre-Approval

To receive an official pre-approval letter, you'll need to provide all the supporting documents listed on the “items needed” checklist. We’ll carefully review and verify these documents, then issue an official pre-approval letter for a specified loan amount.

Completing the pre-approval process gives you a strong advantage in today’s competitive market, positioning you as a serious buyer ready to make offers. In this active market, sellers are prioritizing buyers who are fully pre-approved and have completed their due diligence.