Jeff White

The first contact with your loan professional via email, phone or in person, is to discuss your goals for homeownership. This first contact may cover how long you plan on living in the home, the amount of down payment you will need, and how much you want your monthly payments to be.

A “Pre-qualification” determines how much money you will be eligible to borrow for your home before you actually fill out your loan application. It is important to understand that a pre-qualification does not guarantee you will get a loan. During this second step, your Hook and Ladder team will gather your financial information and make a “conditional” determination about your qualifications for your home loan. (You can review our Document Checklist for the basic information required again above.)

*A pre-qualification is not an approval of credit and does not signify that underwriting requirements have been met.

When you have completed a loan application, your loan officer collects all your required documents and submits your loan file to the team loan processor. The processor then reviews your file and orders your property appraisal. As always, depending on your situation, our team processor may need additional documentation from you during this step. Once your loan file is completed, the processor will then submit it to underwriting for approval.

Our team underwriter reviews your loan file to ensure all guidelines are met for the specific loan program and issues a loan decision. Once your mortgage has been approved and all conditions have been cleared, your loan is now in the “Clear to Close” status.

You will now receive an official loan commitment letter which contains the details of your loan including the rate, the amount and the terms along with any outstanding conditions that need to be addressed before the file is sent to closing. Once everything is cleared by our underwriter, the closing department will complete your final documents.

The time is here! During closing, you will be required to sign a variety of final documents. Make sure you bring a photo ID (Drivers License or Passport) along with the proper form of payment to cover your down payment, closing costs, prepaid interest, taxes, insurance or any additional costs. When the closing documents are completed and all funds have been disbursed by the title company, you will receive the keys to your new home.