How Much More Difficult Are Mortgage Loans To Get in 2019 Compared to Before the Financial Crisis?

[gettingzero]

Many cities/towns also have individual property cards available via the tax assessor's website that usually will tell you the last couple transactions - which is interesting too!

[matrix5k]

OP, to answer your question I just got approved for a mortgage. The bank gave me a list of paperwork to give them 3 separate times. Each time, I uploaded exactly what they asked for and they came back with a new ridiculous list. I wish they asked for everything all at once instead of last minute. The week before the commitment letter was due, they required our landlord fill out a form, I had to get on a conference call with my credit card company, and my wife's former employer had to fill out a form to verify employment. I already gave them our previous two years tax returns and W2s but they said that was not enough to verify employment - what is a W2 for then? Luckily my wife's former HR person wasn't on vacation during those last few days. My credit card company was like, why is a conference call necessary when they have my credit report already.

Maybe it was more of a pain cause I have a jumbo loan?

[Japanfan1986]

Originally Posted by matrix5k

OP, to answer your question I just got approved for a mortgage. The bank gave me a list of paperwork to give them 3 separate times. Each time, I uploaded exactly what they asked for and they came back with a new ridiculous list. I wish they asked for everything all at once instead of last minute. The week before the commitment letter was due, they required our landlord fill out a form, I had to get on a conference call with my credit card company, and my wife's former employer had to fill out a form to verify employment. I already gave them our previous two years tax returns and W2s but they said that was not enough to verify employment - what is a W2 for then? Luckily my wife's former HR person wasn't on vacation during those last few days. My credit card company was like, why is a conference call necessary when they have my credit report already.

Maybe it was more of a pain cause I have a jumbo loan?

By jumbo loan do you mean a jumbo pre-existing loan or the size of the loan needed for your house is jumbo size?

Those student loans can be a killer

[yesmaybe]

Originally Posted by chicagoliz

I don't think this is something to get overly hung-up on. There can be good programs with small amounts down. What matters is the monthly payment (including how much you're paying with a mortgage versus renting), and that that is affordable. Part of this includes having a fixed interest rate so you know the portion of your payment that includes principle and interest isn't going to change (it will change if taxes, insurance, etc. go up).

My beef with low% down is that it's a giant PITA to sell if you are underwater. 10-20% corrections are not that unusual. And if you are doing low%, you likely don't have any kind of emergency fund which is really really helpful.

[matrix5k]

Originally Posted by Japanfan1986

By jumbo loan do you mean a jumbo pre-existing loan or the size of the loan needed for your house is jumbo size?

Those student loans can be a killer

Jumbo size loan, our mortgage is 600k for a 750k house, putting 20% down. We already paid off our student loans.

[chicagoliz]

Originally Posted by yesmaybe

My beef with low% down is that it's a giant PITA to sell if you are underwater. 10-20% corrections are not that unusual. And if you are doing low%, you likely don't have any kind of emergency fund which is really really helpful.

Well, yeah, this is a consideration. And you have to take into account the totality of your circumstances. If you think you will be moving again in the next few years, it's probably not worth it to buy a house. But if you plan to be there long term, it might still be worthwhile.

[yellowstatus]

Originally Posted by matrix5k

OP, to answer your question I just got approved for a mortgage. The bank gave me a list of paperwork to give them 3 separate times. Each time, I uploaded exactly what they asked for and they came back with a new ridiculous list. I wish they asked for everything all at once instead of last minute. The week before the commitment letter was due, they required our landlord fill out a form, I had to get on a conference call with my credit card company, and my wife's former employer had to fill out a form to verify employment. I already gave them our previous two years tax returns and W2s but they said that was not enough to verify employment - what is a W2 for then? Luckily my wife's former HR person wasn't on vacation during those last few days. My credit card company was like, why is a conference call necessary when they have my credit report already.

Maybe it was more of a pain cause I have a jumbo loan?

We've applied for an obtained two loans the past 3 years. One was conforming at $417k and other one was $1.2MM. The application set of documents was about the same, but I hear you about the amount of documents necessary. If anything, the recent larger loan was easier because the mortgage broker and support were excellent. Definitely worth every penny of the $5k the lender paid the mortgage broker to originate the loan!

To me, it feels like lending is easier the less you need it. When I had enough savings to put down 50% down, but no job, no mortgage company wanted to lend. Now they're pre-approving me for $2.2 million. Credit is practically free right now with super low interest rates; it is flush times for those with the assets and income to make more money. For everyone else, standards are real tight. Very different from 2002-2006.

[matrix5k]

Originally Posted by yellowstatus

We've applied for an obtained two loans the past 3 years. One was conforming at $417k and other one was $1.2MM. The application set of documents was about the same, but I hear you about the amount of documents necessary. If anything, the recent larger loan was easier because the mortgage broker and support were excellent. Definitely worth every penny of the $5k the lender paid the mortgage broker to originate the loan!

To me, it feels like lending is easier the less you need it. When I had enough savings to put down 50% down, but no job, no mortgage company wanted to lend. Now they're pre-approving me for $2.2 million. Credit is practically free right now with super low interest rates; it is flush times for those with the assets and income to make more money. For everyone else, standards are real tight. Very different from 2002-2006.

The lender requested more information from me even after we got the commitment letter, 6 days before closing. They asked about two credit inquiries that occured before we even applied for a mortgage. I had to explain that we opened two credit cards. After more calls and emails back and forth about specific details about each card, they reply with "it's all set they appear on our credit report". What a waste of time.

[bizcuit]

Originally Posted by matrix5k

The lender requested more information from me even after we got the commitment letter, 6 days before closing. They asked about two credit inquiries that occured before we even applied for a mortgage. I had to explain that we opened two credit cards. After more calls and emails back and forth about specific details about each card, they reply with "it's all set they appear on our credit report". What a waste of time.

That's weird. Usually they will ask about any inquiries like that at the beginning of the process. My last loan application, they asked about the inquiry on my report that was put there from applying for a mortgage. Uh, wasn't that their own inquiry? Anyway, it was easily explained.