LOAN PROCESS

What to expect during the mortgage process

The loan process doesn’t have to be complicated or intimidating. When you’re working with the mortgage professionals at Main Street Bank, we’re with you every step of the way—to answer your questions, provide guidance, and to make your dreams of home ownership a reality.

1. Consultation

Whether our first conversation is over the phone or in person, we’re glad to meet you and get to know you. We’re looking forward to working together with you on the purchase of your new home! We’ll discuss your home ownership goals, and our lending officer will provide you with our mortgage loan application. During this consult, we’ll also talk about our loan process, introduce you to our team, and provide you with a list of the documentation you’ll need to provide to complete your pre-approval.

2. Pre-approval

Getting a pre-approval is an important first step when you’re beginning the home buying process. We’ll review your credit, income, and the source and size of your down payment. Doing this review will allow us to identify the loan programs that will best meet your needs. Another important part of the pre-approval process is that this will let you know approximately what your budget is when you’re house hunting. An added benefit of pre-approval? When you’re ready to make an offer, this pre-approval lets the seller know that you’re working with a credible local lending institution.

3. Time to look at some houses!

Pre-approval complete, now it’s time to start looking at homes. Now that you know the amount you can afford, you can confidently look at homes in your price range. Be sure to let us know if you have questions relating to a specific home—such as an estimate of down payment, closing costs, monthly payments, and interest rates. We’re always here if you have any questions.

4. You found a house—don’t forget the inspections

You’ve found the house that feels like home. Your realtor will help you through the next steps of writing the offer, negotiation, and ultimately the purchase and sale agreement. Make sure you keep copies of any down payment checks you write! It’s a good idea to have an attorney review the purchase and sales agreement before you sign.

Next? You’ll request a home inspection. Home inspections are important to evaluate the physical condition of the home and to make sure you know what you’re buying. Once the inspection is complete, we’ll be ready for the next step!

5. Finalize your application

We now have the address, estimated property value, and desired loan amount for your future home, in addition to the documentation you provided during the pre-approval process. It’s time to finalize your loan application! We’ll provide you with the application disclosures and a list of any outstanding items we’ll need in order to submit your application.

Once you review and sign those disclosures and provide any necessary documentation, we’ll get back to work! We love that we’re able to turn things around quickly—it’s a tremendous benefit of working with a local bank! Next, we’ll order your property appraisal and a title search.

6. Loan processing

Once your loan officer has completed your submission, our processor will reach out to you if we still need any information in order to prepare your loan for underwriting. Around this time, we’ll receive your appraisal – we’ll send you a copy of that report and let you know once your file is on its way to underwriting.

7. Underwriting

During the underwriting process, we’ll be completing the final review of your loan application. We’ll ensure that your application meets any loan program guidelines, make sure the i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed—and if so, we’ll issue a conditional loan approval.

At this time, we’ll contact you to review the approval – and if there are any outstanding conditions, we’ll work with you to clear them.

8. Your loan has been approved—we’re almost there!

When those outstanding conditions have been cleared and our team completes its review, we’ll issue a “Clear to Close.” Your loan has been APPROVED. Now, let’s schedule that closing!

9. Closing day

Dust off that welcome mat because you’re almost at the door of your new home. The processor will deliver your loan to the closing department and the closer will work with everyone involved to schedule a time and location for closing. Finally the day you’ve been waiting for—your closing day. After signing all the loan documents, you’re now the proud owner of your new home. Congratulations—and welcome home!