When you apply with us, we’ll ask you questions about the home and your finances – it should take less than 15 minutes to complete. When you’ve finished the application, we’ll review your request for approval. A Mortgage Consultant will contact you to introduce himself or herself and to answer any questions you may have. Your Mortgage Consultant is a mortgage expert who will provide help and guidance along the way.

If you’re purchasing a new home, the Mortgage Consultant will also contact the Real Estate Broker or the seller so that they’ll know whom to contact with questions. We’ll send you your preliminary mortgage disclosures to sign, including your loan estimate detailing the costs of your loan and expected monthly payment, and a list of items we’ll need to process your loan request.

We’ll order the appraisal from a licensed appraiser who is familiar with home values in your area. Title Insurance will be necessary. If you’re purchasing a home, we’ll work with the real estate broker or seller to ensure the title work is ordered as soon as possible. If you’re refinancing, we’ll take care of ordering the title work for you. We’ll use the Title Insurance to confirm the legal status of your property and to prepare the closing documents.

After we receive the signed disclosures back from you and the appraisal and title work, we’ll have your loan reviewed in Underwriting for final approval before closing. If you’re purchasing a home, we’ll also schedule the closing with the real estate broker and the seller.

The closing will take place at the office of a title company or attorney or your realtor’s office. A few days before closing, your Mortgage Consultant will contact you to walk through the final information and issue the closing disclosure, so that there won’t be any surprises at closing.

That’s all there is to it!
 

Yes, applying for a mortgage loan before you find a home may be the best thing you could do! If you apply for your mortgage now, we'll issue an approval subject to you finding the perfect home. We'll email you a preapproval letter once your review is completed. You can use that preapproval letter to assure real estate brokers and sellers that you are a qualified buyer. Having a preapproval for a mortgage may give more weight to any offer to purchase that you make. When you find the perfect home, you'll simply call your Mortgage Consultant to complete your application. You'll have an opportunity to lock in our great rates and fees then, and we'll complete the processing of your request.

We take full advantage of an automated underwriting system that allows us to request as little information as possible to verify the data you provide during your loan application. Gone are the days when it was necessary to verify every piece of data collected during the application. The automated underwriting system compares your financial situation with statistical data from millions of other homeowners and uses that comparison to determine the level of verification needed. In many cases, a single W-2 or pay stub can be used to verify your income or two months of bank statements can be used to verify the assets needed to close your loan.

A credit score is one of the pieces of information that we’ll use to evaluate your application. Credit scores are based on information collected by credit bureaus and information reported each month by your creditors about the balances you owe and the timing of your payments. A credit score is a compilation of all this information converted into a number that helps a lender to determine the likelihood that you will repay the loan on schedule. The credit score is calculated by the credit bureau, not by the lender. Credit scores are calculated by comparing your credit history with millions of other consumers. They have proven to be a very effective way of determining credit worthiness.

Some of the things that affect your credit score include your payment history, your outstanding obligations, the length of time you have had outstanding credit, the types of credit you use, and the number of inquiries that have been made about your credit history in the recent past.

Credit scores used for mortgage loan decisions range from approximately 300 to 850. Generally, the higher your credit score, the lower the risk that your payments won’t be paid as agreed.

Using credit scores to evaluate your credit history allows us to quickly and objectively evaluate your credit history when reviewing your loan application. However, there are many other factors when making a loan decision, and we never evaluate an application without looking at the total financial picture of a customer.

An abundance of credit inquiries can sometimes affect your credit score since it may indicate that your use of credit is increasing.

But don't worry. The data used to calculate your credit score doesn't include any mortgage or auto loan credit inquiries that are made within the 30 days prior to the score being calculated. In addition, all mortgage inquiries made in any 14-day period are always considered one inquiry. Don't limit your mortgage shopping for fear of the effect on your credit score.

Buying a home is a big investment. A 20% down payment might be more than you have saved, but that doesn't necessarily mean your dream house is out of reach. If you are a first time home-buyer, you may be able to purchase a home with as little as 3% down. Want more info? Get in touch with our mortgage experts at 1-800-641-5036 or Mortgages@GOLDcu.org.

Your closing costs consist of fees for a credit report and underwriting, as well as other third-party fees traditional with any lender: appraisal, recording fees, title insurance, transfer taxes, property taxes, and the cost of a homeowners' insurance policy.