Whatever loan you choose, the steps to securing, locking and closing your loan are largely the same. Namely, they include:
Preapproval:
One of our mortgage professionals will work with you to go over your qualifications as a borrower and determine how they align with your home buying or refinancing goals. If things don’t align directly, we’ll lay out your current options and also give you a plan of action that will detail how you can become a better borrower in the near future.
Application:
Once we’re clear to go, we proceed with gathering all the pertinent documentation we need and completing a loan application.
Appraisal:
This is when the lender assures the collateral for the property is adequate for the loan they are about to make.
Conditions:
All loans will be approved with conditions necessary to satisfy the lender. These will vary depending on the borrower and the loan program being applied for. Once all conditions to close are satisfied the loan can close.
Rate Lock:
Rates can be locked (guaranteed not to change for a given period of time) throughout many points in the loan process. This is a decision that the borrower and loan agent will make together based on market factors, loan process and the desire of the client.
Closing:
So once the loan is approved, the rate is locked and the loan conditions are complete, it’s time to sign the loan documents and close the deal. After signing, the close of escrow should occur within 3 to 4 business days.