Here's some research you can do before shopping for lenders.
Having all this information ready will make your visits much smoother. :)
Home information
Current balance on your mortgage.
This can be found on your latest statement. If you have a second loan or HELOC, add that as well.
Homeowners insurance policies.
Latest HOA statement, if applicable.
Market price of your home
Our lender was saying that Zillow's prices tend to be a bit higher.
Rule of thumb is that the total loan balance should be under 80% of the market value.
Your financial situation
Last two months of your bank statements (including the blank pages).
For this, they are checking if you have enough cash to make two months of payments. (Or so they said...)
Last three years of your W-2s.
Last three years of your federal tax returns.
Last 30 days of your pay stubs.
Latest property tax statement.
Any other liabilities you have.
This can be credit card payments, car loans, etc. Anything you have an obligation to pay periodically.
Our lender was looking for monthly liabilities being below 40% of our monthly income.
This is just a good idea to do once in a while. You want to make sure your credit status is in good shape.
You can get your credit report for free once an year, from three different institutions. (So that's three free reports per year per person.)
