Why Is So Much Paperwork Required to Get a Mortgage?
When buying a home today, why is there so much paperwork mandated by the lenders for a mortgage loan application? It seems like they need to know everything about you. Furthermore, it requires three separate sources to validate each and every entry on the application form. Many buyers are being told by friends and family that the process was a hundred times easier when they bought their home ten to twenty years ago.
There are two very good reasons that the loan process is much more onerous on today’s buyer than perhaps any other time in history.
1. The government has set new guidelines that now demand that the bank proves beyond any doubt that you are indeed capable of paying the mortgage.
During the run-up to the housing crisis, many people ‘qualified’ for mortgages that they could never pay back. This led to millions of families losing their home. The government wants to make sure th ...

Part of being in a relationship with another person is the milestones you two will share together. One of the biggest milestones a couple will experience together is buying and moving into their first home. Buying a home is a difficult decision for one person to make on their own, but when trying to reconcile the needs, wants and expectations of two people, things can get complicated rather quickly. To help guide you through the buying process, here are four tips that will make sure to keep you and your partner happy.

Set Your Priorities
The first, and most important, step to buying a house together is to sit down and really evaluate what each person wants and needs in their home. Buying a house is not a fleeting decision and once you settle on a new place to call home, you can expect to call it home for a while. Any decision you make together should keep that in mind. The best advice here is to be honest with your partner. Only after expressing your big expectations can the ...

By knowing how much mortgage you can handle, you can ensure that homeownership will fit in your budget.

Homeownership should make you feel safe and secure, and that includes financially. Be sure you can afford your home by calculating how much of a mortgage you can safely fit into your budget.

Why not just take out the biggest mortgage a lender says you can have? Because your lender bases that number on a formula that doesn’t consider your current and future financial and personal goals.

Think ahead to major life events and consider how those might influence your budget. Do you want to return to school for an advanced degree? Will a new child add day care to your monthly expenses? Does a relative plan to eventually live with you and contribute to the mortgage?

Consider those lifestyle issues as you check out these four methods for estimating the amount of mortgage you can afford.

1. Prepare a Detailed Budget

The oldest rule of thumb says you can typically afford ...