The mortgage process is complex. There are many pieces that must come together when securing finances to purchase a house: income, insurance, appraisals, inspections, credit scores, to name just a few. Each piece comes together like a jigsaw puzzle to complete a home loan. And, like a puzzle, if just one piece is missing, the entire process is incomplete.

The first step of the mortgage process is completing your loan application. In addition to preliminary disclosures and information about the current interest rate, you’ll be given a list of documents that your mortgage team needs to begin your pre-approval process. Then comes the loan set-up. This is where third-party documentation like your home appraisal and title search is ordered. Before your loan can progress, a loan processor puts everything together to send to underwriting for approval. An underwriter reviews and evaluates all of your documents to determine if it is a good idea to loan you money for a particular house. If something is missing or incomplete, the underwriter will send your application back and you’ll have to work with your loan processor to fix or resolve any issues. Things can be delayed if something has been overlooked or forgotten by your mortgage team.

Once your loan application gets approval from the underwriter, the final loan papers are sent to the title company. The title company prepares a settlement statement that includes the final amount of money needed to close on the house. A good mortgage team will make sure that there are no surprises at closing and that everything falls into place at the right time.

Throughout the mortgage process, things occur sequentially and many of the steps are dependent on the thing before. Your mortgage team acts as a coordinator of each piece to help ensure that everything is falling into place and getting done. If something is missing or incomplete, your mortgage (and therefore your move-in date) can be delayed. It is critical that your mortgage team stay on top of things as your loan progresses. No one wants to have their closing date delayed because of an oversight or paperwork error. Getting a mortgage is a complex process and you can trust the professionals at Team Neal to be reliable and keep you informed about each step of the process.