Twenty minutes of prep saves two weeks of back-and-forth.
Applications do not stall because of rates. They stall because a document surfaces late. Here is everything to gather, everything to avoid, and exactly what happens after you click apply.
Are you actually ready? Four honest checks.
If any of these give you pause, run the numbers first — five minutes with the calculators can save a hard credit pull at the wrong moment.
Credit is where it will be
Not perfect — just stable. If you are two months from a big score improvement, waiting can be worth real money. Pricing moves in tiers at 620, 660, 680, 700, 720, 740 and 760 — sitting just below one is expensive.
Cash is seasoned
Lenders want to see funds sitting in your account for 60 days. A large recent deposit needs a paper trail. Gift funds have their own rules — workable, but plan for them.
Income is documentable
Two years of history is the usual bar. Recent job change, bonus-heavy comp, or self-employment are all workable — they just point to different programs.
Timeline is real
Pre-approvals age. If you are six months out, get the numbers now and apply closer to the time. If you are house-hunting this month, apply today.
Gather these before you start.
Have them scanned or photographed and in one folder. Files that close on schedule are almost always the ones where this happened up front.
Everyone
- Photo ID for every borrower
- Social Security number
- Two months of bank statements — all pages, including the blank ones
- Two months of statements for any retirement or investment account you are using
- Current address history going back two years
- Details of any other property you own
W-2 employees
- Most recent 30 days of pay stubs
- W-2s for the last two years
- Employer name, address and HR contact
- Written explanation for any gap in employment
- Award letters for bonus, commission or RSU income
Self-employed
- Two years of personal tax returns, all schedules
- Two years of business returns if you file separately
- Year-to-date profit and loss statement
- 12–24 months of business bank statements
- Business license or CPA letter
Buying
- Fully signed purchase contract, all addenda
- Your agent’s contact details
- Homeowners insurance quote or agent
- Earnest money receipt and the statement it cleared from
- HOA contact and dues, if applicable
Refinancing
- Current mortgage statement
- Current homeowners insurance declaration page
- Most recent property tax bill
- Recent survey or title policy, if you have one
- HELOC statement, if there is a second lien
Situational
- Divorce decree or separation agreement
- Child support or alimony documentation
- Bankruptcy discharge papers
- Gift letter and donor’s bank statement
- Green card, visa or work authorization
- DD-214 or Certificate of Eligibility for VA
Not sure which list applies to you?
Start the application and the portal generates a checklist from what you actually submit — tailored to your situation, with anything missing or unreadable flagged automatically.
Now do none of these until you close.
Every one of these has personally killed somebody’s loan at the last minute. Underwriting re-verifies right before funding — what was true at application has to still be true at closing.
- Do not open new credit. Not a store card for the furniture, not a car loan, not a phone financed on credit. It changes your ratios.
- Do not close old credit cards. It shortens your history and raises utilisation. Counter-intuitive, but it lowers your score.
- Do not change jobs mid-process without checking. Sometimes it is fine. Sometimes it restarts the file. Worth knowing which before you resign.
- Do not make large undocumented deposits. Every non-payroll deposit needs a source. Cash is the hardest to document.
- Do not move money between accounts for no reason. Each transfer becomes another statement to explain.
- Do not miss a payment on anything, including the phone bill.
- Do not co-sign for anyone, on anything.
The one thing people get wrong most
Buying furniture or appliances on credit after the pre-approval but before closing. It feels harmless — you already got approved. But the final credit refresh catches it, your debt-to-income moves, and the loan can be re-underwritten or denied days before you were meant to get keys.
Buy the sofa after you close.
When in doubt, check first
About to do anything financially unusual mid-process? Send a note through the portal. Ten seconds of checking beats a week of unwinding, and it threads to your file so nothing gets lost.
What happens after you click apply.
The application runs on Loan Factory’s TERA platform — secure upload, e-signing, automated document checks and real-time status, so you can see exactly where the file is at any point.
You complete the application
Personal details, income, assets and the property if you have one. Save and resume whenever. No fee, and you control when the credit pull happens.
Automated pricing runs
Your scenario prices across the wholesale network without anyone touching it. Options come back side by side — rate, points, credits, payment — for you to compare on your own time.
Document requests appear in the portal
A checklist generated from what you submitted, with secure upload. The system flags what is missing or unreadable so you are not guessing.
Pre-approval issued
Fully documented, the kind listing agents take seriously. Delivered to your inbox — no appointment needed to collect it.
Underwriting to closing, tracked live
Milestone alerts as each stage clears, conditions visible in the portal, secure messaging threaded to your file. You check status yourself rather than calling to ask.
Sree is on the file
Reviewed personally at every stage, with the judgement calls — restructuring, lender choice, timing — made by someone who does this daily rather than by a rules engine.
Documents gathered. Pitfalls understood. Go.
The application takes about fifteen minutes, costs nothing, and does not lock you into anything. Sree will be in touch the same day.
No cost to apply · No obligation · NMLS 2705737 · Loan Factory, Inc. NMLS 320841