Home Buying Process
Buying a home is easier when you understand the process. Our home buying guide walks you through every step, including budgeting, mortgage pre-approval, home shopping, financing, and closing. Whether you’re purchasing your first home or your next home in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, or Colorado, View Live Rates or Get Pre-Approved Today to get started.
The Following is an Outline of The Entire Mortgage Loan Process, From Beginning to End.
By reading on, you will learn the materials you need, where to get them, and who to give them to.
Application and Pre-Approval
The first step in the mortgage loan process is to complete an application. This can be done via our website, or over the telephone with one of our experienced Loan Officers. It takes about 20 minutes and there is no cost or obligation. Once your application is complete, a Loan Officer will contact you to review it.
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Supporting Documentation
View the document checklist for a comprehensive listing of all the documents you can expect to be asked for when you apply for pre-approval.
Document Checklist
Mortgage Pre-Approval
Once your documents are received, we will review them and determine an approvable purchase price and down payment, as well as the various mortgage loan programs available to you. The pre-approval will also let you know the interest rates you qualify for based on your credit.
Your Loan Officer can now issue a pre-approval letter to include with your purchase offers. The letter indicates your income, assets and credit have all been verified, and will provide assurance to the seller of your ability to obtain a mortgage. For more information about the benefits of pre-approval, click the link below.
A pre-approval may be processed with a soft-pull credit report, which has no impact on your credit score. However, once the property is under contract, a hard pull is required as a loan cannot be closed with a soft pull. A hard pull will impact your credit score.
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Rate Lock and Final Approval
After a seller accepts your offer, it is important you get us the Purchase and Sale contract as soon as possible. Once you are under contract, you and your Loan Officer will review your loan options and discuss the various rate and cost scenarios available. At this point in the mortgage loan process, you have the option of locking in your rate and closing costs. Whether you decide to lock upfront or not, the loan disclosures and loan process should start immediately to ensure closing on time. This includes the following:
An appraisal supporting property value
- Loan Disclosures – state and federal disclosures will be emailed to you for electronic signatures. The emailed disclosures will include the Loan Estimate
- Preliminary title report
- A list of additional documents needed to complete the final approval
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Loan Docs
Upon receipt of final underwriter approval, we draw your loan documents and submit them to the closing agent.
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Closing
The closing agent coordinates all the documents that need to be reviewed and signed. The seller will execute the deed to the property, funds will be collected and disbursed, and the closing agent will record the necessary instruments to give you legal ownership of the property. When all is signed and the transfer of funds is complete, you receive the keys to your new home, assuming the seller is vacated.
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Closing Documents
Deed
The Deed is an important mortgage-closing document that transfers the title of real property from the seller to the buyer. It includes a detailed description of the property being transferred and must be signed according to state laws where the property is located. The Deed is mailed to the buyer after the mortgage-closing agent officially records it at the local government office.
Loan Estimate
The Loan Estimate (LE) is an important mortgage closing document because it enables the buyer to have an accurate understanding of the overall mortgage closing costs, as well as the monthly payments on the mortgage loan. On October 3rd, 2015, the CFPB released the standardized Loan Estimate form for all lenders to use, ensuring that borrowers are aware of the components of their loan ― including the interest rate, term length, penalties, fees and all other expenses. Because each lender is required to use the same 3-page Loan Estimate form, buyers can compare products from multiple lenders to find the great offer. The Loan Estimate combines old Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and Truth-in-Lending (TIL) forms.
Note
This is the written agreement signed by the borrower at closing that contains the promise to repay the loan. The Note also contains the terms of the loan, such as loan amount, interest rate, monthly payment, and term.
Mortgage or Deed of Trust
This is the “security instrument” which gives the lender a claim against your house if you fail to live up to the terms of the mortgage note. It recites the legal rights and obligations of both you and the lender and gives the lender the right to take the property by foreclosure if you default on the loan. The mortgage or deed of trust will be recorded, providing public notice of the lender’s claim (lien) on the property.
Closing Disclosure
The Closing Disclosure replaces the old HUD-1 Settlement Statement. The Closing Disclosure is a form that shows the buyer/borrower the breakdown of the total amount of money that must be paid at mortgage loan closing. The borrower must receive the Closing Disclosure at least 3 days prior to closing. This form is similar in format to the Loan Estimate. This is to enable the consumer to compare the initial quoted costs to the final costs.
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Our loan officers are ready and waiting to help you apply for your home loan.
Working with Sammamish Mortgage
- We put YOU first. We are committed to getting every client the most affordable deal every single time.
- Sammamish Mortgage offers some of the most competitive rates in the Nation!
- Fast and efficient, we work to close loans quickly and on time.
- We offer a variety of loans. Sammamish Mortgage will find you the loan that is right for you!!!
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