Mortgage Pre-Approval

We begin this section with a caution, as it has become more and more prevalent that in today’s day and age of computers and internet banking that the pre-approval issued by some of the lending institutions isn’t worth the paper it is written on. For the purpose of saving time and money, many lenders will simply pre-approve a client based on the information submitted on-line without actually requesting any form of employment or down payment confirmation and many times not even a credit bureau check being performed. We have heard of stories where an offer to purchase has been accepted, with no financing conditions because the client was under the assumption that this pre-approval was legitimate and only to find out that when the income was requested or the credit bureau was accessed that the pre-approval was worthless.

We here at SAFEBRIDGE will review each and every pre-approval request individually and make sure that all the I’s are dotted and T’s are crossed, before any sort of pre-approval is issued. We are very familiar with each lenders requirements and what conditions to be wary of. This is our job and we expect our consultants to be well versed, so that they represent our clients with the utmost financial knowledge.We have prepared a short list of items that will be required for a pre-approval, so if you are in the market for a purchase or are simply looking to get a head start on the upcoming renewal, then we would advise that you start to gather the following documents. Keep in mind though that lenders will be looking for personal information that is current – in other words, less than 3 months old and in many cases less than 30 days old. For reference purposes, here is a list of items that will be requested when applying for a mortgage.

• A letter of employment outlining your name, base salary, hours worked per week and length of service.
• A recent pay stub and possibly your last years T4 may be required
• If you receive the majority of your income from commission sales, three years of personal taxes (T1 Generals) as well as three years of notice of assessment will be required to calculate an average…A two year average may be used if the down payment is greater than 20%.
• If you are considered self-employed, three years of personal taxes (T1 Generals) as well as three years of notice of assessment will be required to calculate an average…A two year average may be used if the down payment is greater than 20%.
• If you are self-employed and you have incorporated your company, some lenders will also ask for three years business financials and three years business tax returns along with the three years T1 Generals and three years of Notice of Assessments
• Social Insurance Number
• 3 year history of your employment and residence status
• Banking information
• Have a list of your assets and the balances handy
• Have a list of your liabilities and the balances handy
• Explanation for any past credit problems and the documentation to support it. (Many lenders have created products that take these items into account, so don’t be discouraged that you can’t obtain a mortgage through your bank – we work with many lenders that will approve your mortgage even if your credit isn’t as strong as it could be. We will provide you with all your options)