On The Road To Buying A House: Getting The Loan

Today was we met with the lender again, this time to fill out the official paperwork to apply for the mortgage loan. When she called to make the appointment with us, she told us to expect to spend at least an hour there. OH. MY. WORD! There was a ton of paperwork to discuss and sign. Before we were finished, we had signed or initialed 52 pieces of paper!

After we finished with all of that paperwork, we went to the post office to buy a money order to send off to another company in order to activate utilities so that the appraiser will be able to verify that everything works like it should when he (or she) goes out to do the appraisal inspection. Because it is getting below freezing at night, once the appraiser has finished, and the water is turned off again, they will send someone out to winterize the plumbing. We were required to send the money order to cover the $150 cost of the winterizing.

Our next top was at the electric company to fill out yet another form, so that they can turn the electricity on by the day the appraiser will be there. There, because it is an electric membership corporation, we had to pay a $15 membership fee, and a $20 service charge for turning on the power, but they will bill us for that on our first bill. And, if our credit had not been good enough, we would have been charged a deposit that would cover two months of the average electric bill for that property. Since our credit is good, there was no deposit required.

Then we made our way to the water department. Another piece of paper added to the stack, and a $50 deposit for the water service. $10 of that is a non-refundable service charge. And with that, we were finished for the day.

Here are all the forms we had to read and sign today with the lender:

• Uniform Residential Loan Application (5 pages)
• Borrower’s Certificate
• Borrower Consent for Social Security Administration to Verify Social Security Number
• Fees Worksheet
• Good Faith Estimate (3 pages)
• Truth In Lending Disclosure Statement (2 pages)
• Intent to Proceed With Application
• Anti-Steering Certificate
• Written List of Service Providers
• Georgia Attorney Preference Checklist
• Credit Inquiry Explanation Letter (2 pages)
• Borrower Signature Authorization
• Borrower’s Certification and Authorization
• Disclosure Notices ( we had to sign this one in 4 places)
• Equal Credit Opportunity Act
• Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973
• Mortgage Loan Origination Agreement
• patriot Act Information Disclosure
• What does XXXXXXXXX Mortgage Group, LLC do With Your Personal Information?n(2 pages)
• Notice to Applicant of right To Receive Copy of Appraisal Report
• Servicing Disclosure Statement
• Request of Transcript of Tax Return
• Georgia Department of Banking and Finance Disclosure Requirements
• Your Credit Score and the Price You Pay for Credit (3 pages for each of us)
• Mortgage Fraud Investigation statement
• Housing financial Discrimination Act of 1977 Fair Lending Notice
• Mortgage Disclosure Improvement Act (MDIA) Affidavit
• A page telling us where to find the Settlement Costs Booklet that explains the closing process ( http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=DOC_12617.pdf )
• FHA Disclosures Amendatory Clause/Real Estate Certification
• Borrower’s Acknowledgement of Disclosures

These were used  because Fabgrandpa is a Veteran and is applying for a VA loan:

• Department of Veterans Affairs Debt Questionnaire
• Department of Veterans Affairs Federal Collection Policy Notice
• Counseling Checklist for Military Homebuyers
• Department of Veterans Affairs Request for Certificate of Eligibility
• Department of Veterans Affairs Rights of VA Loan Borrowers (Important Notice)
• Military Activation/Deployment Certification
• Nearest Living Relative Information
• Child Care Certification for VA Loans (we thought this one was hilarious because our youngest child is 36!)

That is quite a stack of paper to add to the existing pile. Tomorrow, we have to create some more! The lender still needs:

• The last paystubs for each of us
• 2 months bank statements ( and if you are following along, yes, I already provided that, but another month has gone by since we provided them)
• Printed bank history from the last statement forward to today
• A letter from me explaining our seasonal employment status

When we go back to the lender on Friday, we will need to take a $400 check for the appraisal, and a quote for homeowners insurance. My work for this week is starting to wear me out and it is only Tuesday!