How to get your Mortgage File reviewed BEFORE Applying for a Mortgage

[seattlecredit08]

This is my first time posting to the Mortgage Loan section of the forums.

I am considering applying for a mortgage but have some hesitations about the contents of my drafted mortgage application.

I have been looking for a paid service (e.g. I pay someone a flat fee of $499 or something to that effect) to have my mortgage application reviewed before actually applying to get some feedback such as:

• A specific item on the credit report is a show stopper and needs to be dealt with
• Certain things need to be documented differently
• I will likely be asked for a letter of explanation for X during underwriting so I might as well prepare it in advance
• etc.

I have been looking everywhere and have not been able to find such a service.

All mortgage brokers I have talked to essentially have pushed me to just pull the credit and shotgun the application and then see what feedback the underwriters provide. 

Question: Is anyone aware of any paid services that exist that help one review/prepare their mortgage application before actually applying? Essentially, are there any paid services run by folks who are perhaps former underwriters/loan officers who could provide such feedback and help tidy up the mortgage application file without the comittment to apply?

For example, I would want someone very experience (e.g. former underwriter) to advice me to do X or Y before actually applying. It could be something very small yet important such as removing dispute codes from all 3 credit reports or waiting 15 days to have a more favorable balance post or perhaps a larger item such as transferring funds to be used for downpayment X days in advance and seasoning them. Essentially, a service that would help me optimize my profile spefically for the mortgage application.

Thanks in advance!!

[VALoanMaster]

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@seattlecredit08 wrote:

This is my first time posting to the Mortgage Loan section of the forums.

 I am considering applying for a mortgage but have some hesitations about the contents of my drafted mortgage application.

 I have been looking for a paid service (e.g. I pay someone a flat fee of $499 or something to that effect) to have my mortgage application reviewed before actually applying to get some feedback such as:

• A specific item on the credit report is a show stopper and needs to be dealt with
• Certain things need to be documented differently
• I will likely be asked for a letter of explanation for X during underwriting so I might as well prepare it in advance
• etc.

I have been looking everywhere and have not been able to find such a service.

 All mortgage brokers I have talked to essentially have pushed me to just pull the credit and shotgun the application and then see what feedback the underwriters provide. 

 Question: Is anyone aware of any paid services that exist that help one review/prepare their mortgage application before actually applying? Essentially, are there any paid services run by folks who are perhaps former underwriters/loan officers who could provide such feedback and help tidy up the mortgage application file without the comittment to apply?

 For example, I would want someone very experience (e.g. former underwriter) to advice me to do X or Y before actually applying. It could be something very small yet important such as removing dispute codes from all 3 credit reports or waiting 15 days to have a more favorable balance post or perhaps a larger item such as transferring funds to be used for downpayment X days in advance and seasoning them. Essentially, a service that would help me optimize my profile spefically for the mortgage application.

 Thanks in advance!!

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Hi seattlecredit08,

Everything your looking for is available, free of charge, from an experienced loan officer like myself but you have to apply.

Unfortunately it's almost impossible for a loan officer to accurately do what you want without pulling a credit report and running your file through an automated underwriting system. 

I'm not sure why you're reluctant to apply but I'm going to give a couple of reasons why a lender needs you to in order to help you.

1) Our credit reports generally provide more detailed info.

2) We cannot run your file through an AUS without a credit report.

3) Each program has different guidelines/requirements.

4) Investors have their own overlays that have to be checked.

5) Debt to income ratios & assets have a big impact on the decision from an AUS so I won't even think about pre-approving someone without reviewing all of their income & asset documentation.

[Dalmus]

I think what the OP is getting at is not wanting to take a HP when she may not end up actually wanting a mortgage because the terms aren't to her liking.  She may need 6 months to take care of some issue that is identified, and then she's got to take antoher HP.  The two HP vs 1 HP could, in theory, drop her score a couple of points that would knock her into a higher interest rate, right?  Or does the number of HP inquiries not matter to mortgage score?

Is there a difference in the information provided via a hard pull vs what is provided to the requestor?  It would be nice if a loan officer could do a SOFT PULL prequalification and run it through the underwriting software (for a fee, of course, to obtain the actual score and pay for the LO's time) to identify weak points in a credit profile.  This is already possible for credit card and some auto loan prequalifications.

[NC_Mtg_Loaner]

Jump on in, the water's fine!

The only thing you have to fear is fear itself.

Hard pulls for a mortgage loan don't really hurt your score to the point that your score wouldn't recover quickly.   Your credit score is more elastic than you think---especially if you are managing your credit and spending habits wisely then your score will reflect this over time as well.

You should talk to enough mortgage loan officers until you find one that answers your questions well enough so that you are comfortable going through with the process but there's really nothing to be alarmed about--it's not rocket science; it's just your income, credit and assets attempting to qualify for a property that needs to be sufficient colatteral for a loan. 

[Dalmus]

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@NC_Mtg_Loaner wrote:

Jump on in, the water's fine!

The only thing you have to fear is fear itself.

Hard pulls for a mortgage loan don't really hurt your score to the point that your score wouldn't recover quickly.   Your credit score is more elastic than you think---especially if you are managing your credit and spending habits wisely then your score will reflect this over time as well.

You should talk to enough mortgage loan officers until you find one that answers your questions well enough so that you are comfortable going through with the process but there's really nothing to be alarmed about--it's not rocket science; it's just your income, credit and assets attempting to qualify for a property that needs to be sufficient colatteral for a loan. 

---

 Sometimes I forget that many of the frequent vistors to MyFico are hyper-sensitive to minute changes in credit compared to normal folks. 

 I'm about 1.5 to 2 years out from when we plan to start looking for our next house... I'm currently at a 688-708-719 for my mortgage scores (well, as of last May anyway).  The last time I bought a house, I talked to several different banks...  the only one that really rubbed me the wrong way was Quicken, and that's because they implied that my Credit Union was lieing about closing costs.

 Thanks for taking the time to answer questions to folks here!  Its educational, even if we don't normally participate!

[Revelate]

My limited experience: pull your reports (from here so you have the scores, cost you $60 bucks or whatever), get the rest of the documentation you need in a row which you can find here or a bunch of other places via Google for a mortgage, and then just find a LO (in person) and go socialize it with them.

They will have their tier sheet, and they can get you 90-95% of the way before you do the pull... and if the rate is competitive and they're helpful, go ahead and just get the deed done.  That's basically what I did even with Chase on my own loan, the LO was admittedly shocked I was that well prepared but I knew exactly what the issues were going in from doing a bit of research, and just asked the questions.

Did the pull right then and there, and yup, was pretty straightfoward nothing unexpected.