The following summary is intended to help you understand the various stages you will encounter from sales contract to settlement.

Contract to Application:

You have found the right home at the right price in the right location. Now it's time to focus on your home financing. Your application has been taken by a loan officer, who has asked you a number of questions, collected your mortgage documentation and addressed your concerns.

At that meeting, or shortly after, you will receive a Good Faith Estimate and a Truth-In Lending Statement with your annual percentage rate (APR).

You may have a choice of locking or floating your interest rate and should discuss these options with your loan officer. After your application is submitted, your file is registered and turned over to your loan processor.

Processing:

Your loan processor reviews the file for all necessary income, asset and credit documentation and may contact you for remaining information needed for full underwriting approval.

An appraisal will be ordered to determine the fair market value of the property you are purchasing. Payment will be made directly to the appraisal management firm when they contact you.

Once all materials are received and reviewed, your processor will submit the file to our underwriting department for assessment.
Underwriting:

An underwriter, a trained credit-risk analyst, will do everything possible to help you receive loan approval. If your application is approved, you will receive a commitment letter explaining the terms of your loan, including any conditions to be met prior to closing. Read you commitment letter and follow the instructions carefully.

Pre-Closing (Clear to Close):

Prior to loan closing, you may be asked to provide:

€ A copy of homeowners or hazard insurance policy and a one-year paid receipt;
€ A copy of flood insurance policy and paid receipt if the property is in a flood zone;
€ Evidence of compliance with all outstanding loan conditions listed in your commitment letter; and
€ Evidence of completion for any required inspections.

Although you may have provided all of the documents during the loan application process, some of them may have expired according to lender guidelines and will need to be updated. Then, all documents will be reviewed again by the underwriting department. Finally, after your application has been approved by quality control, it's time to schedule your closing date.

Closing:

At closing, your attorney will review the terms of your loan and explain each document. You will be required to bring a cashiers check for the balance of your down payment and closing costs.

The attorney will also provide you with a copy of the HUD-1 Settlement Statement showing all costs related to closing such as down payment, loan origination fee, survey, appraisal, mortgage insurance (if required), mortgage tax, inspections and title search as well as various prepaid expenses including interim interest.
An escrow account may be established at the time of closing. Your initial escrow account deposit will cover real estate taxes, hazard insurance and mortgage insurance, if applicable. Your loan servicer will pay your taxes and insurance premiums from this account when they come due.

You will either be given or mailed a first payment letter stating the amount of your monthly loan payments and instructions about where and when to send them.

The keys to your new home will be handed to you. Congratulations!