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- Fill out the loan application completely. The lender
needs all this information to determine your creditworthiness. Make
sure you have the documents you need ahead of time.
- Respond promptly. Don't put off responding to lender
requests for additional documentation. Get the documents yourself if
necessary.
- Don't quit or change jobs. Only hours before funding
a loan, a lender may call your employer to confirm your job status.
- Don't go on a spending spree. Before the sale is
scheduled to close, the lender may check your credit report for high
credit card balances and your bank accounts to make sure you haven't
drained them.
As the closing date approaches, you should do the following to make sure
it goes smoothly:
- Stay in touch with your lender to keep abreast of
any issues with your loan. Make sure you know ahead of time if you need
to bring any documentation to the closing.
- Review your insurance policies to make sure you have
adequate coverage for the value of your home and its contents. Make
sure your policies list your refinance lender as the payee for losses.
- Consider your second mortgage, if you have one on
your property. You'll likely need to obtain a document called a “subordination
agreement” from your second mortgage lender. This agreement simply
means that the second mortgage will be subordinate to your new refinance
loan in terms of which lender has primary claim to your assets if you
should ever declare bankruptcy.
- Evaluate your escrow account for your current mortgage,
to find out if you have either a deficit or surplus of funds. (Escrows
are accounts that lenders include in your mortgage so that you don't
have to come up with yearly property expenses, such as school and county
taxes and homeowners insurance.)
- Verify the amount of cash you'll need to pay for closing costs.
Your closing agent should let you know ahead of time how much you will
have to bring to closing. You should get a certified or cashiers check
in this amount from the bank–cash or personal checks are generally
not accepted.
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