Applying for a mortgage is a celebratory milestone, but it’s important to do the application competently, so your lender and broker take you seriously.
Here are 7 mortgage application faux-pas you may be about to do wrong and the strategies we recommend instead.
1 – Omitting Information
Transparency is key here; don’t misrepresent or leave out important elements of your financial history or situation. It will be a major red flag for your broker/lender. Everyone has some imperfections – being honest about your reality will help your partners find the best rate for you to maintain. A slight compromise is better than losing an opportunity altogether.
2 – Not Dotting Your I’s and Crossing Your T’s
No, we mean literally, cross those T’s. Ideally, don’t compile/submit handwritten forms, but if you must, make your handwriting very legible. These forms are needed to showcase very important figures, even one number or letter being unclear can cause big headaches. We suggest completing/filing all forms electronically.
3 – Failing to Centralize
The beginning of this mortgage journey should take place at home, relaxed, compiling all the necessary documents before the action takes place. You don’t want to be chasing T4s, and Property Tax Statements all over the place as the need comes up. Instead, you’ll want to find all of these forms (also including your NOA, T1 General, Mortgage Statement, Insurance Binder forms, etc.) before you’re in the thick of it. This will make your life easier, and that of your broker/lender. Keep them all tidy and tabbed in a binder or file folder for easy finding and viewing.
4 – Out-Of-Date Info
Make sure that when filling out the necessary documents or upon reviewing forms that document the past, the information is up-to-date and correct. Even small inconsistencies or blunders can make a big difference. We recommend reviewing all document figures and their sources (like your credit report) to make sure things are correct and optimized at every level. That being said, even flattering mistakes need to be corrected to reflect reality; this comes back to the importance of transparency.
5 – Mislabeling Misfortune
Just like you shouldn’t wait to compile everything until the last minute, you also shouldn’t compile things all mixed up or mislabeled. Carefully dividing document types in a binder with labelled tabs is a great way to discern easily what each form is so that the wrong thing isn’t submitted.
6 – One For You but Not for Me
Giving away your one and only copy of a very important life document in hopes of it making its way back to you is not a promising gamble. Originals belong to you. Brokerages and banks will always be okay with receiving copies of documents, not originals, for their files.
7 – Don’t Stress
Getting anxious that your application process is taking too long and/or hiring multiple other brokers in the meantime is not going to do you any good. You’ll be spread too thin and possibly miss out on all your options. It’s perfectly natural for the process to take a few weeks (even over a month in some cases). Allow them the time to review everything carefully to assess what’s best for you. This is an important evaluation, and a trustworthy and respectable agency, like Easy House Loan, will take their time making sure they get you the best deal out there. Trust in the process.
Get in touch with a mortgage specialist at Easy House Loan, who’ll walk you through the journey of property ownership.