Location: Los Angeles, California.
My Mortgage Journey really began in Nov 1991 by establishing credit at age 18 with a green American Express card as a college student; making every payment on time always, never missed a payment and never late on a payment for 25 straight years. Completing a bachelors and a couple of master's degrees allowed me to generate a stable income stream. Likewise for the wife, having a master's in nursing helped her earn $80+ an hour as a nurse practitioner, and paying her bills responsibly she too had great credit scores. We married, I managed the finances, I ensured we paid off her student loans as mine were paid off already, until as a couple we had zero debt, with as much savings as possible, including retirement funds being maxed out each year. Fast forward today we both have a perfect track record of on time payments with 800+ scores pretty much across the board. We have set ourselves up to app for our first mortgage. See my signature line for mortgage scores; wife's is comparable or higher than mine.
May 2015: Asked mortgage lender at Wells Fargo some questions on apping and also started to focus on paying down wife's student loan remaining balance of approx. $15,000 and original balance was approx. $40,000.
Dec 2015: Paid off wife's student loans. Completely debt free of any kind and we pay in full all credit card charges each month.
Jan 2016 - Present: Continue focus on saving . . .continue monitoring credit report to clean up anything (if needed)
April 27, 2016: emailed and called various mortgage bankers, banks, and credit unions about availability of 10% down jumbos on a $1M purchase price. The results of contacting 15 different lenders is here in this matrix: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1UvCPic8ZnVvvByOuz_NPDabmw7av1ME9tQLGhJaWjik/edit#gid=7600425...
As it turn out only Wells Fargo and US Bank had a 10% down on a $1M purchase price for big banks. Wells offered 3.875% for a 30-year fixed with no PMI. US Bank offered a couple of options, 10% down on $1M purchase price like Wells but with LPMI and a rate of 4.375% over 30 years or a 80/10/10 (piggyback or 1st/2nd mortgage product) with $800K on the 1st mortgage at 3.625% and $100K on the HELOC (2nd mortgage) at 4.5%. I asked for a lower rate for the 30-year fixed but US bank said "Unfortunately the rate is set, and with today's market rates could climb. I can only offer the lower rate with option 1 (80/10/10)."
US Bank pushed for the 80/10/10 product with a follow up email when I asked if I have a higher down payment can the rate drop to between 3.5%-4.0%, the reply was: "I feel that your best option would be the 80/10/10; Especially if you are wanting to bring more money here in the near future. This would be a benefit to pay down in full the line of credit. When you have a zero balance on the line of credit, you have easy access to funds for any type of emergency that can arise to your home or if an investment appears down the road you can quick access these funds. The other point to this; is the fact that you would have a 3.625% on a 30 year fix on the first mortgage. Please let me know your thoughts.. Thank you"
May 2, 2016: I received confirmation from Chase that a 10% down is not offered on a purchase prices exceeding $625,500 so I am left with Wells Fargo or US Bank. I emailed Wells Fargo today to notify the lender, same one I reached out to in May 2015 that I'm ready to take the next steps in the mortgage application process to obtain from Wells what he referred to as a full commitment from Wells, specifically the Wells lender said " I’d like to submit your loan to underwriting for a full approval commitment letter so you have a little easier time getting your offer accepted." The Wells lender has been super fast answering emails (we spoke on the phone initially), answering emails on weekends, replying same day. He replied today and sent me an email link to start the application process, which I will do tonight and probably start uploading documents. These are the documents the Wells Fargo website is requesting I have available (as applicable):
Your Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Online Application Details Guide
Be sure to have the following information on hand for both borrower and co-borrower. You’ll need this specific information to fill out your application accurately. Personal information
- Full legal name, Social Security number, and birthdate
- Phone number, email address, and current and former residential and mailing addresses over the last 2 years
Employment and income information
- Name, addresses, and phone numbers of all employers over the last 2 years
- Salary information, including base salary, overtime, commissions, tips and gratuities, as well as any other income from self-employment, dividends and interest, retirement accounts, alimony, child support, etc.
Tip: Have your most recent paystubs handy so you can enter accurate information. You will have to enter separately each of the items listed.
Property information
- If purchasing: address of property being purchased, year built, estimated down payment amount, and purchase price (if known)
- If refinancing: address of property being refinanced and year purchased
- Estimates of annual property taxes, homeowners insurance, and any homeowner association dues
Assets and liabilities
- Balance and account numbers of bank and other asset accounts, including:
- Mutual funds, stocks, and bonds
- Pension and retirement (401K)
- Business net worth if applicable
Tip: Have your most recent statements handy for these accounts so you can enter accurate asset balances.
- List of monthly obligations, including alimony, child support, etc.
- Information about any additional real estate assets you own, including property addresses, monthly payments, taxes, insurance, and rents
Other
- Servicemember information, if you’re applying for a VA loan
