Criteria For Getting Pre-Qualified For A Home Mortgage

By Dedra Landreth


A mortgage is a loan instrument that is used to acquire residential properties, easements and rights to own natural resources. Mortgages involve a lot of assessment before they can be issued by the financial institutions. Therefore this creates a lot of requirements on getting qualified for mortgage.Mortgages should be written and contain information such as conditions of payment, description of the property and inheritance conditions should the mortgagee decease.

Mortgage qualification is done through the underwriting process. The goal of underwriting is to determine the loan-to-value ratio, the payment-to-income ratio, the assets of an applicant and whether the credit history are acceptable to the lender, or the lender and the insurer, whichever the case may be. The willingness and ability of a borrower to pay are evaluated thoroughly.

The main determinant of qualification is the income of the mortgagee. Underwriters will consider necessary information regarding the income such as the workplace, amount of wages or salary and the probability of income to last for a long period of time. The lender is interested in the long run because it helps to tell whether the borrower will be able to meet the future payments. Other considered sources are incomes from part time jobs, a working spouse, and returns from investments, self-employment, commissions, bonuses pensions and royalties.

Possession of assets places the borrower at a great advantage. These assets have to be verified in order to establish if they are adequate to cater for costs and a down payment on the mortgage. The loan officers check the deposits of an applicant which enable to establish ability to save which is evidenced by a savings account, ownership of securities, real estate and other properties.

The other considered factor is the credit history such as past payments on loans, debts and other obligations. Any fraudulent or slow payments of these previous obligations usually affect the suitability of a borrower to get a loan unless they are justified otherwise. Lenders may however consider the applicant if the interruption in payment was due to factors such as loss of income.

Persons with established households need to account for their housing expenses. The viewed expenses are taxes, the loan repayment principle and interest and any insurance payments made. These costs are then calculated and compared with the total monthly or annual income. If the loan to income ratio is high then the application could be denied.

Other factors that determine the qualification are obligations such as car loans, child support payments, credit card accounts. In the event of such requirements the lender can consider compensating factors that can help offset the undesirable factors. These offsetting elements include liquid assets that can be used when the borrower loses his income. A borrower who has skills that are on high demand in the industry also stands at a greater advantage of getting qualified for mortgage.




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